Penny Simmonds is pushing through changes that will hurt our people. She’s replacing Workforce Development Councils-many of which had strong connections with iwi, hapū, and Māori providers-with a pile of new boards that will have less influence, less funding, and less say in shaping the future of vocational education.
And she’s doing it with no proof that her plan will work.
If the Minister had bothered to talk with the sector, she would have heard that Te Pūkenga is running a surplus, all six Workforce Development Councils were hitting their targets, and more people—especially Māori—are now looking to retrain and upskill as the economy tightens.
These are our people. Our whānau, our tamariki, and our mokopuna who want good jobs, decent pay, and the chance to build a better future in their own rohe. But Simmonds didn’t ask. She didn’t ask what’s working, or what’s delivering for Māori, or how these changes will impact our regions.
From the beginning, it’s been clear her personal dislike for Te Pūkenga has driven these reforms. She never sought advice on whether the Workforce Development Councils were worth keeping—not financially, not culturally, not for the opportunities they created.
Now she’s forcing the vocational education sector to walk blind into a new system that hasn’t been tested, hasn’t been explained, and hasn’t earned the trust of the people.
At the same time, polytechnics are being cut to the bone. Regional campuses are closing courses, jobs are being lost, and apprenticeship pathways are drying up. It’s Māori, Pacific, and regional learners who will miss out the most.
Our communities deserve better than political point-scoring. They deserve a system that listens to them, values partnership, and creates real opportunities for our people to succeed.
When decisions are made without us, they’re usually made against us.
