Information for parents, family and whanau

What are their tertiary options?

There are plenty of study options in New Zealand. There are education providers all around the country who are often very flexible about the way someone works towards their tertiary qualification. Your child will be able to choose between full-time or part-time study, to leave home, or to study by correspondence.

Here are some options

Youth Training courses

Youth Training may suit your child if they:

are under 18
have few or no school qualifications
want to gain valuable skills that will help them get a job or into further training.

Youth Training courses are free courses that will offer your child the chance to gain unit standards and work towards a national certificate. A lot of employers like people with good maths and English skills, so most of the Youth Training courses can also help your child improve in these areas.

Part of the course involves work experience and your child can ask to be placed in a work environment that interests them, such as at a hairdresser's, garage or office.

Generally, youth training providers will sit down with your child, find out what sort of skills they want to develop and then work out a training plan to suit them. It’s that easy. They’ll also help them with their CV and encourage them to apply for jobs.
There is a wide range of courses offered under the Youth Training scheme, and the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) website has a list of courses by region.

Find out more

Other websites

Search the TEC website for Youth Training courses in your region

Bridging courses

Your child may want to consider a bridging course if they:

have not achieved the required entry-level qualifications for a particular training course
are unsure of their ability to cope with the training
want to see what it’s like before they make a financial commitment.

Bridging courses are often held in maths, English and science subjects to get young people up to speed with a degree-entry qualification. Many providers also offer foundation courses so that they can learn essay writing, study and time management skills or get a feel for a subject area.

Full-time study

Full-time study means that most time is spent attending a tertiary institution.
This may be a good option for your child if they:

want to finish their qualification in the fastest time possible
don’t mind making changes to their current lifestyle
are willing to make the commitment.

Part-time study

Part-time study allows your child to study while continuing with other commitments such as:

music, sport
family
full-time work.

Obviously, gaining a qualification by part-time study will take longer than studying full time.

Distance learning

Someone who decides on distance or correspondence learning or extramural studies can live anywhere in the world and still gain a New Zealand qualification. It may be the right choice for your child if they:

prefer to study from home
are a motivated, independent learner
find an ideal course but moving is not an option.
As more and more courses become available extramurally, it’s worth your child asking different providers if the course they want to do is available through distance learning.
E-learning is a form of distance learning that is Internet-based. Check the websites of individual tertiary providers to see if they offer e-learning.