The Conditions of Teachers in Private Training Establishments in New Zealand

Recent research into Private Training Establishments (PTEs) in New Zealand reveals that conditions for teachers are less than adequate. PTEs are part of the wider strategy which has been termed by the Government 'Skill New Zealand' and which aims at the development in the workplace of a culture that recognises the importance of workplace training as an alternative to education in tertiary institutions. Skill New Zealand is promoted within the government's education policy epithet--'seamless' education where the notion of 'tertiary' has been stretched in an attempt to include PTEs and where all courses of study are to lead to national qualifications. The paper is an initial exploration into the working conditions of teachers in PTEs and the government's seamless education policy environment within which PTEs are located.