In a show of cross-party support, Labour MP for Taieri Ingrid Leary and Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson, of Lawrence, wrote to Education Minister Erica Stanford last week seeking a funding guarantee for Tokomairiro Training in Milton.
In her letter, Ms Leary said the training centre, which provides forestry and educational achievement programmes for year 12 and 13 pupils under Tokomairiro High School oversight, sought "certainty" over its future, having had to find ad hoc funding from a range of sources for several years.
She requested the ministry provide "core funding" of $90,000 a year for the next three years and carry out an assessment of the facility and its programmes as a model for good practice elsewhere.
Tokomairiro Training programme manager Lynda Allan said funding for the centre had always been, and remained, challenging, and she was grateful for the support from Ms Leary and Mr Patterson.
"We offer a Forestry Pathways course, supplying trained forestry workers for one of Clutha’s biggest industries.
"This has no government funding. We’re instead funded ad hoc by Otago Community Trust, Lotteries Commission, local forest companies, the Forest Growers Association, MBIE, MPI and MSD.
"We are extremely grateful for that but we need reliable, sustainable funding to plan and grow to meet the needs of the industry — and our young people."
The centre also provided Alternative Education and Youth Guarantee programmes to assist pupils and school leavers who had struggled with traditional academic education.
"Not only are we building a much-needed forestry workforce, we’re directing those who might be at higher risk of benefit lifestyles and crime into constructive careers, with plenty of well-paid options, and it’s looking like 88% of this year’s intake will go straight into primary industry."
Due to the ownership of the facility, and its secondary-tertiary overlap, seeking sustainable government funding was not straightforward.
"From past experience, for us to receive education funding, we would need to become a Private Training Establishment, which would mean we had to stand alone from the school.
"We don’t want that, so possibly seeking more sustainable funding from the Ministry for Primary Industries might be the way to go as, at the end of the day, that’s the sector we’re supporting."
The forestry programme ran two days a week for 32 weeks, and had eight students this year.
The facility could double that number given appropriate funding, Mrs Allan said.
A Tertiary Education Commission spokesman said the commission already provided Tokomairiro High School with some funding for its pathway programmes.
He said other government and education sector funding sources existed, given applicants satisfied criteria specific to the funding stream or overseeing body.
Ministry of Education operations and integration leader Sean Teddy said the facility had not approached the ministry for funding for its forestry pathways course.
"The most appropriate option would be to explore options for inclusion in future Trades Academy funding rounds. The current financial allocation, managed by Te Pūkenga in the Otago region, reflects 100% of the total places requested in both 2023 and 2024.
"We advise regional tertiary providers to work with their stakeholders, including lead providers, schools, tertiary providers, industry, community groups and employers to determine how best to use their regional allocations.
"Te Pūkenga has not received an expression of interest from Tokomairiro Training for a forestry pathway course, which could replace existing courses if requested by stakeholders."
