The vocational education systems in Australia and New Zealand have faced significant challenges and failures in recent years, despite substantial government and industry investment.

In New Zealand, the government’s Te Pūkenga experiment, which aimed to merge 16 polytechnics into a single national institute, has been described as an “abject disaster”[4]. This initiative wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and resulted in a financial mess, with Te Pūkenga accumulating over $250 million in debt [7]. The system failed to provide quality, relevant learning to the regions and created a bloated, centralized bureaucracy [7].

Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector has also experienced difficulties. A review led by Steven Joyce revealed declining employer confidence in the sector and decreasing numbers of qualification-seeking students [8]. The review identified several issues, including slow qualification development, complex funding models, and ongoing quality problems with some providers [8].

Both countries have invested significant resources into their vocational education systems. In New Zealand, vocational education receives more than $900 million a year in public funding, with 280,000 students enrolled in 2022 [9]. Australia has also made substantial investments, including the creation of a national regulator and nationally-portable qualifications [8].

Despite these investments, both systems have struggled to meet the needs of employers, students, and communities. In New Zealand, the government is now consulting on reforms to replace the Te Pūkenga model with a more financially sustainable and regionally responsive system [7]. Australia’s review recommended a six-point plan for change, including strengthening quality assurance, speeding up qualification development, and simplifying funding [8].

These failures highlight the need for careful planning, strong governance, and a focus on industry needs in vocational education. Both countries are now seeking to reform their systems to better align with the skills required for their future workforces [7,8], but progress is not encouraging and this is adding to further uncertainty for students, providers and employers.