Mr. Andrew Brownlee:

I thank the Senator. The first two points in regard to the school system and how to develop female ambassadors and mentors can be separated. We can be the agents for change in this area. My first point is that we have an excellent education system, one that is respected worldwide. Whatever we do, it is about building on that system. It is not about ripping it up and starting again.

I totally agree with the Senator. I remember a meeting of a previous incarnation of this committee at which a brilliant young female apprentice said that she was interested in vocational and technical subjects subject at age 12 or 13 when she went to secondary school. However, she went to an all-girl school and because there was no one there to teach those subjects, they were not available as options. There is a legacy problem in that many schools are designed to generate the academic CAO pipeline. One aspect of our strategy, which we are exploring with the NCCA, is whether we can use further education colleges to offer taster modules for programmes as part of senior cycle or transition year so that we can bring the capability into schools. A lot more people, particularly women, could be advised as to what options are available. That is important.

In terms of green skills, there is a great deal to do and there is much that we are already focusing on. We are developing and expanding a network of retrofitting and upskilling centres. There are two NZEB centres in place and three more are planned. We are updating apprenticeship curricula. Perhaps Dr. Trant can talk about that in more detail. We can provide more information after the meeting if the committee requires it.

The new FET strategy is trying to create a sense of a college of the future which deals with all of the points we have talked about, including a larger scale, a bigger identity within the community and region and bringing together what was traditionally further education and training activity. Being a green campus is a prerequisite for all of that development. Within the strategy, we have made a commitment that all FET provision will be used to develop knowledge of climate change and environmental issues. There was a follow up in the programme for Government we talked about, a green further education and skills development plan. There is real opportunity to embed that learning in every FET course so that we are effectively creating the agents of change and the new generation that will understand what needs to be done and help to drive us towards those targets. We are working with the ETBs on that at the moment. It is an exciting opportunity where no matter what further education course one does, there will be a sustainability component within it.