Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology proposed to cut forestry and wood manufacture courses. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The proposal to cut programs from a Rotorua apprenticeship training program has blindsided the forestry and wood manufacture industry.
The proposal from Bay of Plenty's Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology would mean up to twenty job losses, the Tertiary Education Union said.
Courses proposed to be cut included timber machining, forest management, social and youth work and rehabilitation studies, it said.
Senior tutor in Forestry and Wood manufacturing Kerry Parker told Checkpoint there had been a lack of consultation with industry players over the proposal to cut the courses.
They had not been informed as to what would happen to those students who had yet to complete their apprenticeships, he said.
"Because we're the only place in New Zealand and in the southern hemisphere that does this type of training, they're just like... 'What happens to our employees that are halfway through their apprenticeship'," he said.
Industry organisations from across New Zealand wanted to come up with a resolution, he said.
"It would be a shame to see a place that's been open since 1965 get closed down."
If the campus were to close, there would be few options and no equivalent institutions for the apprentices.
"There's no other training campus like it in the Southern Hemisphere.
"The only real option would be that each site would have on site trainers that would be able to train them for specific roles within their plant, but that won't make well-rounded apprentices or tradesman... Every site's very different, and they don't have all the equipment to train people on," Parker said.
One of the main focuses of the courses that would be cut was health and safety, he said.
"Health and safety is not something that's common sense. People touch things that they shouldn't touch and you've got to train them to to be aware of these risks."
When Checkpoint host Lisa Owen asked if he thought there would be more injuries in the forestry and wood manufacturing industry without the training the courses provided Parker said: "Yeah there could be ... and the last thing I'd want to see is people being injured."
However he was optimistic that there could be a positive resolution.
"I'm hoping that, with the backing I've got from industry and ... the media, that they will put a halt to this and we'll sit down at the table and come up with a resolution. I'm hoping it's not already a done-deal."
Te Pukenga, which runs Toi Ohomai, said in a statement that it expects Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics to be financially viable and to be able to support the needs of its region.
In relation to the forestry training, it said in 2024 there were 30 learners for block courses adding up to twelve weeks which was not enough for it to remain viable for Toi Ohomai to deliver those courses.
Toi Ohomai was currently consulting with kaimahi on multiple change proposals, and no decisions had been made, the statement said.
There were plans to consult with industry to look at alternative ways to provide this training, it said.
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