John Cronin BOP Regional Council Chairman www.envbop.govt.nz

To progress the Bay of Plenty and Tauranga in particular we need to grow the job market.

To grow the job market we need to up-skill our labour force. To up-skill our labour force, we need education.

In the Bay of Plenty, centered on Tauranga, a unique partnership is proposed between Te Whare Wananga O Awanuiarangi (Whakatane) Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and the University of Waikato to offer world class diplomas, degrees and research –autonomous institutions working together to make a distinctive contribution to the needs of our region. Discussions are being made with Waiariki Institute of technology (Rotorua) which would make it a full bay of plenty initiative.

In my opinion, this could be the most significant economic development proposal in the last 50 years that could transform Tauranga and the region.

Education is a clean industry; it generates community wealth, it produces jobs, it raises intellectual standards and gives our young adults access to an integrated range of tertiary education aligned to our city and regional needs.

Our young adults will not have to leave home to get an education, be it a trade or a degree. Some still may do so, but they would have a choice and the Bay of Plenty would no doubt attract students from other places.

It brings a student vibrancy (students spend money) similar to that of Dunedin and the graduates become ambassadors for Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty and that has to good for us.

We need education here because: We are below average for tertiary qualifications, our young adults are leaving the region, we have an increasing shortage of skills and we have the third highest proportion of Maori youth in the country.

As a region, we need to retain and attract young people, we need to address the needs of young Maori, we need to meet future skill needs and we need to build capability and capacity.

But what do you think? If you have a view on this or any other local government issue I would be pleased to receive your comments I invite you to email johncronin@xtra.co.nz