Geez I get frustrated with dumb articles like this one. I venture that one of the reasons we may have low productivity is because there are too many people in the business of stating the obvious.
Where are the specifics? Everyone knows we need more export earners. As if having skills has ever been considered a low priority!
The spurious claim that because Denmark, Singapore, Australia are doing better means we can is utter bull for so many reasons.
And the best part? "Encouraging more academic researchers to conduct research that will improve outcomes for New Zealanders." The outcome of research is more research

What an inane title. Of course improving skills is important. So is remembering to tie your shoe laces. So that we can catch Australia is where the title really starts to repel. Last time I looked Australia wasn't going anywhere very fast. So now it's my turn to make stupidly obvious statements, except that it seems beyond the comprehension of some people that two very different counties need not attempt to compete with one another in the same arena. Quite literally why does New Zealand need to try to be like Australia in any respect when Australia already does a very good job? New Zealanders have the option to go and live in Australia if that takes their fancy and likewise Australians can come and live here. The only thing we should be trying to compete with them in is Rugby and Netball. Thats enough.

We all want a strong and vibrant society and an economy that provides for a high standard of living for us all. In New Zealand that means making the very best of the things we can be good at not trying to. "catch up" For goodness sake tell us what we can be good at and how to go about it don't tell us to improve our "skills" so we can "catch up".

The productivity of anyone reading this article would improve if NZ had universal skills in how to cut and paste text.

What a load of the same old PC clap trap that has been circulating around for the last 30yrs
Yeah we need to upgrade....no..we need to get trades skills back into schools
not messing around with bits of plastic, but get OSH out and welders, gas axe, hammers ans saws back in....
Not focus on Tertiary (which these days means uni) but on primary and secondary, so these no hoppers who cant read and write, and teach them how to work with their hand, which history shows what they are good at
It is these same people who build homes, offices, tool up the inventions of others.
Its not about "up skilling" .
Dump all those 'pre trade courses (which are just rorts) and produce kids straight from school with good work ethics and skills to go straight into trades

"* Training more people with valuable skills in short supply, such as scientists, engineers, operations and development managers, and entrepreneurs;"

Ideas dont build a country, it is those who can build those ideas that build a country.
put the horse before the cart.

"* Encouraging more academic researchers to conduct research that will improve
outcomes for New Zealanders;"

LMAO..you mean add to the plane hanger (I assume you do know about the plane hanger) of cardboard boxes of the research that has gone before saying the same thing over and over...Or more simply go to Uni study as a researcher and rort the system over and over?

I suggest you go have a good old talk to Prof. Middleton..thats 1 guy who is onto it, and has been for 40 yrs.

I find nothing new, or original, you have said, that has not been said many times over the last 30 yrs..except it is now evolved into PC BS all talk no do, by people who have spent their lives sitting behind desks, justifying there existence dreaming they will be the next Beeby
I assume you know who he is?..was.

"Rick has publications in Social Welfare, the Sociology of Education, Strategic Management, Business Ethics and Mathematical Psychology"
Say no more.

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Crikey Bernard : Get some rest man . You're gonna have a crucial budget to cover on Thursday . We need you bright eyed and bushy boofed for the big day !

When I lived in Brisbane just a few years ago they were very close to running out of water with dams down to levels where supply would be badly contaminated by too much silt. Authorities were thinking of options regarding the possible shipment of water to many hundreds of thousands of residents. There were rumours that even the question of possible evacuations was raised in council. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.
Some smaller townships to the even drier west of Brisbane were forced to bring in water by tanker. That time around they were saved in the nick of time by rain at long last.
Current plans are to add at least two more desalination plants in addition to the one they have now built on the Gold Coast.
Australia is becoming as dependant on its minerals as is the Middle East is on its oil and soon Australia may also not be able to feed itself due to its ever increasing droughts.
I tell my offspring "sure go to Australia to currently earn the far better incomes but make sure you have a property here to come back to when conditions change".