Modern Apprenticeships Conference

Monday 30 October 2006

Good morning and thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. I was particularly delighted to receive this invitation. Trade Training is an important driver for a prosperous city and I recognise the vital role that teachers and trainers play in the process.

I always feel that I had completed my apprenticeship as a mechanic by the time I finished school. Working alongside my father, I learnt lots of skills which have stood me in good stead as I built my Chrysler special from scratch.

I trained to be an accountant here at CPIT. My accounting skills have helped me with many of my paid jobs, but it is my mechanical skills that have given me the most pleasure. They have also given me insights into Council engineers’ reports.

The great thing about a trade is that you can see real results quickly. Not like politics where results can be a long time coming! It’s taken nearly 8 years for me to get traction on projects to revitalise the central city.

When I first became Mayor I was determined to do something to generate work and training opportunities in Christchurch and other cities in New Zealand. I approached other Mayors around the country, and the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs was born.

One of our first objectives was to have all young people in either training or work.

In the eight years since the formation of the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs the New Zealand economy has enjoyed a phenomenal upswing. As the economy changed so did the Mayors Taskforce, and instead of looking at jobs and training, we went out and asked employers what kind of skills they needed. It became very evident that there was a real gap in the numbers of people in trade training.

The Canterbury Apprentices and Trainee Graduation ceremony has been an integral component of that. We wanted to recognise the achievement of finishing a modern apprenticeship, to provide graduates with a rite of passage, and to add status to work based training.

One of the great things was we could devise our own ceremony, something that suited us as Cantabraians. We were not hidebound by history, we could make our own.

I think it is important that our young people are recognised by their community for their achievements and the Graduation ceremony does that. Parents, in particular, have told me how pleased and proud they are so see their children receive their certificates.

Our young people are the life blood of the economy. In today’s global economy businesses are competing with the world for our young people. We need to make sure that we have jobs for them, ones that give them a good future in New Zealand.

The tertiary education sector has an important part to play in transforming Christchurch and New Zealand into a high wage, knowledge-based economy, and to grow globally competitive firms.

The onus is on you, the nation’s tertiary organisations to provide the numbers of skilled graduates required to meet the specific needs of each business and each region. Part of this is building close links with business and keeping up with technology.

What of the future? Christchurch is a trading city and we need to be able to get our goods to market. This will include planning for oil costing $100 plus per barrel. The sustainable use of water and use of sustainable energy sources are two of the keys for economic success. The installation of dark fibre with open access broadband, throughout the city, is also needed for business and research.

The trades, and trade training, will play a huge part in developing and building these leading edge technologies that will future proof our city.

Thank you for inviting me here today. Congratulations on your inspiring line up of speakers. Best wishes with this, the inaugural Modern Apprenticeship Conference.