Schools don’t have to do it all. And they shouldn’t.

The announcement of nine new industry-led subjects for senior secondary students is exactly the kind of bold, forward-looking move New Zealand’s education system needs.

Construction and Built Environment, Applied Intelligent Systems and the rest of the list will give young people genuine, curriculum-integrated pathways into industries that are crying out for skilled workers.

Skills Group welcomes both the announcement and the signal it sends that vocational and applied learning deserve the same standing as traditional academic subjects.

These nine subjects have the potential to replace a fragmented patchwork of add-on programmes with clear, recognised pathways into further training and employment. The fact that they will sit alongside English, maths and science as fully integrated curriculum choices is significant.

For too long, vocational options in senior secondary school have been treated as alternatives for students who weren’t suited to the academic track. That framing was always wrong, and it is encouraging to see it being dismantled.

But in the days since the announcement, much of the commentary has focused on a question that, while understandable, rests on a faulty assumption. How will schools deliver all of this?

The short answer is that they won’t, and they shouldn’t have to.

The PPTA has raised concerns about recruiting specialist staff and acquiring technical equipment and facilities. These are legitimate operational questions.

But they only become overwhelming if you assume that all the delivery has to happen inside the school gate. It doesn’t.

The core purpose of these final two years of schooling is to support young people to find and get started on their pathways beyond school.

That means students learning things outside the classroom, working with tertiary education providers, undertaking work experience, meeting employers, seeing possibilities first-hand, and developing the employability skills that matter so much to their futures. Schools are a vital part of that picture, but they are not the whole picture.

If schools are worried about where to find specialist trainers, they should know we have them. If they are concerned about investing in expensive equipment and workshop facilities, the tertiary system already has those too.

Organisations like Skills Group exist precisely to bridge this gap. We have trained and assessed thousands of apprentices and trainees, and we have the infrastructure, the industry relationships and the expertise to partner with schools on delivery.

This is not about diminishing the role of schools. It is about recognising that the most effective model for industry-led subjects is a genuinely collaborative one, where schools, tertiary providers and employers each contribute what they do best.

The Minister herself acknowledged this when she noted the Government is working to ensure there will be some in-school provision alongside delivery through tertiary and industry partnerships. That is the right instinct.

Skills Group has a long history of working with secondary schools. Through Gateway and Trades Academies, we have relationships with schools across the country. But if we are honest, those partnerships have often felt tacked on.

Vocational and employment-facing programmes have too often been treated as side options for students who were struggling, rather than as serious curriculum choices. That perception feeds directly into the parity of esteem problem this reform is trying to solve.

And it is a perception that does not match reality. More than half of last year’s intake of trainees and apprentices were already tertiary qualified.

Modern industry is sophisticated, technological and complex. The names of the subjects announced last week say plenty. Applied Intelligent Systems, Energy and Infrastructure, Next-Gen Manufacturing.

These are not soft options. They represent sectors with massive depth, breadth and skill requirements.

We therefore applaud the promotion of industry-led subjects as fully integrated curriculum choices. And we are looking forward to partnering with schools to deliver them, bringing our training expertise, our facilities and our employer networks.

Schools can’t do it alone and no-one should expect them to.

The end of school is just the beginning of a lifelong learning and work journey. These new industry-led subjects will help give purpose and direction to more young people, and they offer a powerful chance for employers, tertiary providers and schools to work together effectively to support young New Zealanders on the cusp of their working lives.