To keep that momentum, manufacturers need a pipeline of skilled workers, and this programme delivers exactly that,” Mr Brewer says. “What makes Earn as You Learn unique is its rotational model. Minister with Quinn, a graduate of the first Waikato Earn as You Learn cohort, during his visit to APL Manufacturing in Cambridge in July 2026. Earn as You Learn is a practical, industry-led answer, and it sits alongside a serious Government commitment to vocational pathways: 10,000 more trades academy places by 2030 and an additional 1,000 Youth Guarantee places. Wider Government support for vocational pathwaysThe Vocational Training Opportunities for Secondary School Students programme is expanding trades academy places by 10,000, to more than 20,000 by 2030, funded for $69 million over four years.