Earn As You Learn Programme ExpandsHon Cameron BrewerMinister for Small Business and ManufacturingMore young New Zealanders will be paid to train for manufacturing careers, with the successful Earn as You Learn programme expanding into the Hutt Valley, Bay of Plenty, Christchurch and Auckland, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Cameron Brewer says. 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. 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.