Tauranga Boys\u2019 College alumnus Charlie Cunningham, 20, had not secured an electrical apprenticeship after a three-year search. <\/p>\n
Cunningham took a retail job instead, while completing his pre-trade course at Toi Ohomai. <\/p>\n
He finished his course last year but was still looking for work as an apprentice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve sent quite a few emails, and people have put my name forward and recommended me, but I don\u2019t hear back from them.\u201d <\/p>\n
Cunningham said he would move cities if needed.<\/p>\n
Charlie Cunningham, 20, has been searching for an apprenticeship in the Bay of Plenty for three years. <\/p>\n
Ex-Katikati College student Curtis Moore, 21, searched for a year before being employed as an electrical apprentice.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery four weeks, I\u2019d go on a loop of all the electrical companies in Tauranga, asking for work experience or an apprenticeship. No one had anything for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt got to the point where quite a few of the office ladies from the electrical companies around Tauranga knew me. I\u2019d walk in, and they\u2019d say, \u2018Sorry, Curtis, we don\u2019t have anything for you\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moore had a spreadsheet during his search, where he recorded visiting 31 companies an average of three or four times each.<\/p>\n
Apprenticeship numbers down<\/p>\n
Toi Ohomai<\/a> head of school Reg Hawthorne said enrolment numbers for pre-trade courses had remained consistent over the past few years, but numbers were slightly down for apprenticeship programmes. <\/p>\n Tauranga Boys\u2019 College offered two vocational programmes: Gateway Placements and the Bay of Plenty Futures Academy.<\/p>\n Teacher in charge of trades academies Bradley Smith said these pathways helped match students with work opportunities. <\/p>\n However, the economic downturn meant trade opportunities were \u201clacking\u201d.<\/p>\n Students were returning to school rather than getting jobs. .<\/p>\n In 2025, Tauranga Boys\u2019 College had 90 more students than in 2024.<\/p>\n Smith said the \u201creal humming year\u201d was between 2021 and 2022.<\/p>\n Students were moving into employment \u201cleft, right, and centre\u201d.<\/p>\n The Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation<\/a>, New Zealand\u2019s building and construction apprenticeship provider, supports apprenticeships at all stages of their journeys.<\/p>\n Interim chief executive Warwick Quinn said apprentice numbers peaked in 2022.<\/p>\n He said this was because of construction demand, economic conditions, a 60% increase in housing consents over the previous five years, and government interventions.<\/p>\n The Bay of Plenty Times asked whether government interventions were needed to support recovery from the 2024 recession<\/a>, Quinn said government support could help stabilise and accelerate the construction sector\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in another skills slump and will not have sufficient numbers of skilled workers<\/a> to respond to demand when the sector rebounds.\u201d<\/p>\n Quinn said help for employers to hire and retain apprentices would ease pressure on businesses. <\/p>\n Schemes such as the Apprenticeship Boost and the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund would also help. <\/p>\n \u2018We need a return to appropriate funding\u2019<\/p>\n The Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund was a Government fund that covered fees for vocational education and training from July 1, 2020, until December 31, 2022.<\/p>\n The NZ Herald, in March 2021, reported more than 100,000 learners had signed up for vocational training and apprenticeships<\/a> since the fund was introduced.<\/p>\n The Apprenticeship Boost was a scheme providing payments to employers to incentivise them to hire new apprentices.<\/p>\n The scheme was introduced as $1000 per month for apprentices in their first 12 months of training and $500 per month for apprentices in their second 12 months. <\/p>\n As of January 1, 2025, only first-year apprentices were eligible, and the payment was reduced to $500 per month. <\/p>\n Ministry of Social Development data obtained under the Official Information Act recorded a peak of 309 Apprenticeship Boost applications in 2021.<\/p>\n This number dropped year by year, with only 55 applications recorded for 2025.<\/p>\n Master Electricians chief executive Alexandra Vranyac-Wheeler said people were interested in entering the electrotechnology sector, but fewer employers had hiring capacity. <\/p>\n Lower and less predictable workloads, budget constraints, and uncertainty about future demand created difficult conditions for employers to commit to four-year apprenticeships. <\/p>\n \u201cEmployer support mechanisms must be strengthened, not reduced,\u201d Vranyac-Wheeler said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a return to appropriate funding and provision of programmes, including the Apprenticeship Boost and the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund, or comparable government-funded programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n Master Plumbers and Masterlink \u2013 an apprenticeship programme specialising in plumbing, gasfitting, and drainlaying \u2013 chief executive Greg Wallace said apprenticeship uptake increased by about 27% when the Apprenticeship Boost was about $1000 per month.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen that support reduced, we saw numbers decline. We would like to see that level of support reinstated.\u201d<\/p>\n National apprentice numbers were down by more than 30%.<\/p>\n Wallace said the industry was seeing an exodus of qualified tradespeople <\/a>heading to Australia.<\/p>\n Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds said there were no plans to reinstate the previous $1000 universal settings. <\/p>\n \u201cThe current targeted approach ensures the Apprenticeship Boost remains sustainable and focused on areas of workforce demand.\u201d<\/p>\n Simmonds said the Government\u2019s focus was now on sustainable, long-term funding settings.<\/p>\n \u201cBudget 2025 invested an additional $398m in tertiary education over four years.\u201d <\/p>\n She said this included increased tuition and training subsidies and more money for priority areas such as engineering, trades, primary industries, and health. <\/p>\n The Government expected apprenticeship uptake to improve as infrastructure investment progressed and business confidence strengthened, Simmonds said.<\/p>\n Strong construction forecast for Bay of Plenty<\/p>\n The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment forecasted strong consenting activity for Waikato and the Bay of Plenty. <\/p>\n Almost 37,000 dwelling consents were expected between 2025 and 2030. <\/p>\n In Tauranga, the city council\u2019s building consents report for February 2026 recorded 109 consents issued, valued at $72,285,246.<\/p>\n New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) chief executive Malcolm Fleming said the construction industry was starting to pick up again.<\/p>\n There was an \u201cupbeat feel in the economy\u201d.<\/p>\n Fleming said two NZCB members were employing apprentices and enquired about the Apprenticeship Boost.<\/p>\n Priority One chief executive Dave Courtney expected job demand to grow with a strong pipeline of construction and infrastructure projects<\/a> planned for the Western Bay of Plenty. <\/p>\n He said Priority One\u2019s Youth Pathways team connected schools and unemployed young people with trades training pathways and construction and infrastructure employers. <\/p>\nWarwick Quinn, Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation interim chief executive, said apprentice numbers peaked in 2022. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n
Master Electricians chief executive Alexandra Vranyac-Wheeler said employers had no capacity to take on new apprentices. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds expected apprenticeship uptake to improve as infrastructure investment progressed. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n
New Zealand Certified Builders chief executive Malcom Fleming. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n