Just months after the chief executive of Aoraki Polytechnic quit her post amid financial losses and a declining student roll, the polytechnic is ''excited'' about the prospects for increasing student numbers at its Oamaru campus.
Kay Nelson resigned as the polytechnic's chief executive in November, and although acting chief executive Alex Cabrera said a full-time replacement for Ms Nelson had not yet been appointed, Aoraki Polytechnic still planned to increase the numbers of students in Oamaru.
''Because it is a regional provider, Aoraki Polytechnic offers a regionally based network of provision that is based on the needs of the community. By putting the community at the centre of its focus it is able to identify problems unique to this community and make itself part of the solution. Aoraki Polytechnic is aware that students living in this region are underqualified compared with the national average, so many of the programmes that the Aoraki Polytechnic offers have been designed to help address this problem,'' Mr Cabrera said.
Any changes to the Oamaru campus would be determined by ''market demand'', but the polytechnic was determined to ''support'' the educational needs of the Oamaru community, Mr Cabrera said.
A total of 166 people were trained at the Oamaru campus last year, and enrollments for this year were ''looking up'' compared with 2012, he said.
The polytechnic had also offered support to the 192 workers made redundant at the Summit Wool Spinners plant in Oamaru, he said.
Redundant staff who wanted to retrain could enrol in any course without paying a student fee, he said.
''This offer includes courses in both Oamaru and Timaru. Redundant staff who wished to retrain in Timaru could use a free bus that ran daily between Oamaru and the Timaru campus at no cost to students, Mr Cabrera said. Aoraki Polytechnic had also offered free job-seeker training, including career advice, CV writing and interview skills to Summit Wool Spinners staff.
''In Oamaru, Aoraki Polytechnic is also collaborating with other organisations such as Literacy North Otago and the Salvation Army, providing them with the use of our facilities including specialist facilities such as kitchens and computer suites.''
The majority of the polytechnic's 2012 trades courses graduates had already found employment, and the polytechnic had a ''positive and exciting'' future, he said.
Aoraki Polytechnic has campuses in Timaru, Oamaru, Ashburton, Dunedin and Christchurch.
