New campaign to boost engineering study at Polytechnics

A new government initiative to increase enrolments in engineering qualifications at New Zealand polytechnics was announced recently, a move that Bay of Plenty Polytechnic welcomes and supports.

Hon Steven Joyce, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment launched the Engineering – Education to Employment (E2E) initiative as a way to promote engineering careers, particularly by becoming qualified through an Institute of Technology or polytechnic.

“Unfortunately many people still think the only option for becoming an engineer is as a university graduate,” said Minister Joyce. “While having more graduate professional engineers is very important, companies are telling us there is a real need for engineering technicians and technologists that have studied to diploma or degree level.

“Engineering makes a critical and exciting contribution to our society, and allows our industries to compete on the world stage. The challenge is that we need to be producing significantly more of them to meet industry demand today and in the future.”

Bay of Plenty Polytechnic’s range of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering programmes offer a strong practical aspect, ensuring graduates are better prepared for the workforce, as well as having an industry-recognised qualification that employers are looking for.

“It’s great the Minister is recognising that the NZDE programme is meeting the national need,” says Malcolm Hardy, Head of Applied Technology at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic.

“The majority of engineering companies don’t need a degree graduate, but rather a diploma graduate with technician skills. Schools need to realise their students will be better off if they complete the diploma and then go on to the degree if they want to; not only will they be better off financially and academically, but they’ll also be  more employable in the industry.”