Ms Sarah Miley:

I work in the construction and green skills unit. The Department is in almost daily contact with SOLAS on this matter. We are looking at the totality of what we are talking about, exactly as the Chairman has outlined.

We are looking at developing an e-mobility capability centre of excellence using the successful mobile NZED and retrofit training centres, which are located across the country. There is a feasibility study under way to look into what that would best look like and what it should do. In the meantime, we are looking at changing some of the existing apprenticeship curriculums to incorporate green skills.

On mechanics specifically, the motor mechanics programme is changing to automotive technology. That will look at how we can service e-vehicles; not just e-cars, but also trucks and trains. The programme will look at the totality of everything.

On other skills, we are looking at developing new skills as emerging needs become clear to us, in particular in the offshore wind industry. We also have the NZED centres of excellence, which are showing increases year on year in terms of participation. We had a doubling in the number of learners at the end of last year compared with the number through the doors in 2022. This year, we are already on target to surpass the number of learners last year. We are all the time looking at evolving our skills offering and training provision. We work very closely with SOLAS in that regard.