Hawke’s
Bay needs better tertiary education opportunities
Published HBT 11 October 2017
Despite
all the hoopla about how well Hawke’s Bay is doing these days there
are still some serious shortcomings that need to be addressed. The
latest ASB Main Report gave us 4 stars out of a possible 5, but most
of the economic and demographic ratings actually placed us near the
bottom of the 16 regions including 4th from bottom in
population growth ahead of Taranaki, Marlborough West Coast and
Southland, and 3rd from bottom for employment growth.
Where
we fail spectacularly is getting our share of government spending. No
major Government Departments, no military bases and serious
underspending on tertiary education. We are the largest urban area in
the country without a university campus. Gacinda Ardern’s promise
of fee free study will actually disadvantage Hawke’s Bay students
who need to study elsewhere because they must still pay for their
living expenses unlike those from university cities who are able to
live at home.
We
do have the EIT offering level 7 qualifications including some degree
courses but it is not enough. Not nearly enough. With just 12% of
Hawke’s Bay people holding Bachelor degrees or level 7
qualifications we are way behind Wellington on 25%, Auckland 22%,
Otago 18% and Canterbury 16%. We are even behind the Waikato (14%)
and Manawatu/ Wanganui (13%). We do however scrape ahead of
Northland, Taranaki, Gisborne, Marlborough and Southland all on 11%,
and the South Island West Coast at under 9%.
So
who cares? Well there is clear evidence that the higher the
educational attainment the greater the earning potential and lower
the likelihood of being unemployed. The 2013 census also revealed the
following relationship between qualifications and income for people
over 15 years.
-
$19,400 with no qualifications
-
$25 500 for people with level 1 certificate
-
$37 400 for people with level 5 or 7 diploma
-
$46 700 for people with bachelor’d degree or level 7 qualification
-
$56 100 for people with post graduate and honours degrees
-
$58 300 for people with masters degree
-
$83 600 for people with doctorate degree.
Of
course higher education is not the only path to skills and knowledge
but for many education will have a huge impact on their success in
the workplace and how much they earn.
Formal
qualifications also provide evidence of specific leaning and an
ability to learn.
Universities
are a huge drivers of economic activity in their own right, employing
thousands of well paid highly qualified people and injecting millions
of dollars into local economies. Dunedin estimates Otago University
contributes $0.75 billion.
There
are eight recognised Universities in New Zealand, Auckland, Waikato,
Massey, Victoria, Canterbury and Otago, Lincoln, and AUT and several
such as Massey have multiple campuses. Presumably the new Tauranga
Campus will remain part of Waikato University.
In
total Government spends over $4.3 billion supporting tertiary
education. Student fees, research funding and other sources of income
more than double this. Currently Hawke’s Bay is seriously missing
out on this spending.
There
are over 400 000 tertiary students, nationwide and nearly 50% attend
universities. In theory on a pro rata population basis we should have
about 8000 polytechnic students plus a further 8000 university
student, but interestingly the EIT has just over 3000 full time
equivalent students.
This
discrepancy may be partly explained by many of our young choosing to
study elsewhere but the reality is nearly a quarter of our population
have no qualifications, compared to less than 15% for Wellington and
Auckland.
Successive
governments have been under providing and underfunding Hawke’s Bay
tertiary education. They have been assisted by our civic leaders who
appear besotted by high visibility monuments rather than prioritising
the things that will make a real difference to our economy and
wellbeing. In my time on an EIT Industry advisory committee we were
not permitted to advertise our courses in other parts of the country
yet universities were free to promote their offerings here. This
restriction may no longer exist but it is a clear example of how
Government policy has disadvantaged Hawke’s Bay.
Education
may not be a core council responsibility but who else will push this
issue if local government doesn’t.
As
one of the candidates standing for Mayor in the approaching Hastings
elections I will be making this a key policy issues.
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