A large cohort will soon begin retiring from the workforce
and will be replaced by a smaller cohort. The innovative
entrepreneur (or school dropout) of 2015 are right now in
their formative years of development. Now is the best time
to ensure that they have the skills to help them prosper
later in life and, conversely, to limit the burden they could
place on society and minimise the deprivation they might
face in their adult lives.
• An older workforce, and the need to encourage older
people to remain in paid employment.
• The “baby blip” that will reach late adolescence around
2005-2010 and put pressure on the tertiary education
sector, including apprenticeship training.
• New Zealand’s ability to attract, retain and make best use
of the skills and talent it needs for sustainable
development.
• Infrastructure and other issues that have arisen from
changing patterns of settlement, especially for Auckland.
• The access of all groups to sustainable paid employment.
• The increasingly diverse social, cultural, and economic
needs of New Zealand society.
The sustainable development approach gives us a way of
thinking about these issues and finding solutions that give us
the best outcomes – not just for the life of our community
but also for the environment and the economy. The vision
statement in the next section together with the programme
of action that follows set the direction and outline the
practical steps the government intends to take.