Head of Whangārei's NorthTec says its future is certain

The head of Northland's biggest vocational training provider says he is certain the embattled institute will stay open - but 27 jobs are set to go by Christmas and the future of some of its smaller campuses around the region remains unclear.

Whangārei-based NorthTec is one of handful of polytechs around the country that has been put on notice by the government that it has to become financially viable, or it is at risk of closure or may have to switch to online-only teaching.

It's part of the reversal of the previous government's merger of the nation's polytechs into one mega-institute, Te Pūkenga.

While the final decision will be made by the government, operations lead Derek Slatter said NorthTec's survival was certain because of the steps being taken to ensure viability.

"We're not there yet, but the plan we have and the steps we're taking are going to get us there. It's already locked in, we just have to continue to carry them out."

Those steps included cutting around 58 full-time equivalent jobs, of which 10 were already vacant, and the creation of 31 new roles - a net loss of about 27 jobs.

Their last day of work will be 17 December.

"These are good, experienced people. It's not their fault, it's just the fact that we need to become viable and a necessary evil on that journey is reducing our costs. So much of our cost is people cost, and it's just something we need to work through."

In the original proposal a net 30 jobs were slated to go.

NorthTec was also working to boost enrolments for next year, Slatter said.

The target was to increase the current 1620 students to 1735 in 2026, which was still well down on the roughly 3000 students of the pre-Covid era.

Slatter said the institute was also looking closely at the properties it owned and leased.

In Kaitāia, NorthTec owned a building on Oxford Street and leased premises on Redan Rd, so it would be giving up Redan Rd and consolidating its courses at Oxford Street.

A decision had yet to be made about the future of its campuses in the Mid North.

Slatter said NorthTec currently had large buildings in Kerikeri, which it owned, and at Ngāwhā, near Kaikohe, which it leased from council-owned company Far North Holdings.

"We can't maintain two big properties in the Mid North, so we're unlikely to stay at both. But no decisions have been reached there."

The most likely scenario was that most courses would be concentrated on one site, with only some specialised training and equipment remaining at the other.

The decision had been delayed by a number of factors - including the local elections - but he hoped it would be made by the end of the year.

In Whangārei, courses were also spread across two main sites - Dyer Street, in the city's industrial area, and in the suburb of Raumanga.

Carpentry and automotive engineering were based at Dyer Street while courses such as nursing, social services and hospitality were taught at Raumanga.

Slatter said the size of the campus harked back to the days when NorthTec had twice as many students as it did now, so much of it was under-utilised.

Work was continuing to use the properties more effectively, and potentially rent out some space or remove old buildings.

By Christmas, Te Pūkenga signage will be changed back to NorthTec.

The Auckland campus - which catered to international students - would be closed.

Slatter said historically NorthTec had lost around $3000 per full-time equivalent student per year.

"That's not a sustainable thing to be doing. So that's where our work and our focus has been and substantial steps have been taken to make sure we don't keep doing that.

"Next year, we will be no worse than break even, and the year after, we'll be in surplus."

Slatter said the government had provided $890,000 in "strategic funding" to keep forestry, farming and fencing programmes running for now.

Under an earlier proposal, forestry and farming courses were to have been axed, despite their importance to Northland's economy.

NorthTec had also received a $2.75 million grant aimed at keeping the doors open until financial viability was attained.

"So with support from the government and the actions we're taking, we can confidently say that we are going to be viable and we're going to be around. There's hard work yet to do, but we're going to get there."

Slatter said NorthTec was also working to lift the number of international students in Whangārei from the current 60 to 200 per year by the end of 2027.

International students brought in extra revenue, up to $25,000 per student per year not counting their spend on accommodation.

He hoped NorthTec would eventually become part of a "federation" of smaller polytechs such as Ucol, Otago Polytechnic and Taranaki's WITT.

That would allow them to share technology and services, but unlike Te Pūkenga, each would retain regional governance.

Green MP Hūhana Lyndon, a former NorthTec student, tutor and director, said she was concerned the job cuts included all staff and student support roles outside Whangārei.

"Who's going to support Kaitāia? The Kaitāia student support worker, who's also available to support staff members, she's gone, along with the administrator. You're just going to have tutors up there by themselves."

Lyndon said a week before Christmas, during a cost-of-living crisis, was "a horrible time" to be made redundant.

"The Christmas holidays are a critical time for whānau to have a bit of stress release. It's not fair."

Lyndon, who has organised a series of "Save NorthTec" hui in recent months, said it would be hard to find other jobs in Northland.

That meant Northland risked losing their skills to other regions, she said.

Slatter conceded that cutting jobs before Christmas was "far from ideal".

"We simply don't have the room to do anything else. If there was any other way, we wouldn't do it like this. But that's the reality of the position we're in."

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