Prime Ministers Vocational Excellence Award (PMVEA)
Since the cancellation of the PMVEA, many schools have decided to create their own award. Warwick Foy, Taranaki Exec member and immediate past CATE president, has confirmed that the majority of Taranaki schools will continue to offer the PM Award but call it the “Education to Employment Excellence Award.” He says, “Success in our subject areas should be recognised. In my opinion, an apprenticeship is a noble achievement and should not be seen as inferior to being the dux. It’s not inclusive to write off everyone but the academics at prizegiving”. At his school, Sacred Heart Girls College in New Plymouth, they have a cup for the award, which is announced alongside the other big awards. Myah Newton (pictured below) was last year’s recipient. She is training as a beautician and said the award was life-changing for her. She is so annoyed by the cancellation of the award that she has offered to pay for it herself!
Eileen Crawford from Kerikeri High School also commented, “We were really disappointed to hear the Prime Minister’s Vocational Excellence Award was stopped. I spoke with the Principal about our disappointment. We have a family that donates money to our annual prize giving while their grandchildren attend our school. They have agreed to donate $1500 per year for the next 5 years for the Vocational Excellence Award. We are thrilled to be able to offer it for the foreseeable future”.
Wellington College has also decided to continue the presentation of a Vocational Excellence Award despite the Minister of Education’s decision to no longer support this. Since its inception, the PMVEA has been the third to last award presented at prize giving, just before Proxime Accessit and Dux. The Headmaster has given a trophy and the school will fund a $1,500.00 prize via STAR. To identify this year’s recipient they have used the same criteria as the PMVEA and sought feedback from employers as well as within the school.
CATE would like to see schools continuing the award. One way of doing this is for schools to use STAR funding for a cup and award so that there is consistent status for the award across the country. The intention of this will remain for students entering apprenticeships, workplace training, trades training or employment, not for university students.
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Myah Newton (above), 2023 recipient of the PMVEA, Sacred Heart Girls College, New Plymouth
