Dr Michael Johnston: New Zealand needs clearer pathways to apprenticeships

Every year in New Zealand, around 62,000 young people leave school. Just 6% of them enter apprenticeship training. Nearly double that – 11% – neither gain employment nor enrol in post-school education. That comparison points to a serious waste of human potential. In contrast, under the German ‘dual training’ system, fully half of school leavers take up apprenticeships.