Education New Zealand Expands India Skills Push As FTA Deepens Ties
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Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ) is strengthening engagement with India’s skills and education ecosystem as New Zealand and India deepen their economic and strategic relationship. The initiative brought together a delegation of New Zealand applied learning institutions with senior Indian government, education and industry stakeholders in New Delhi for Applied Learning & Employability Connect 2026.
The engagement is among the early initiatives to follow the New Zealand – India Free Trade Agreement, translating the agreement’s emphasis on deeper bilateral cooperation into focused engagement across education, skills and workforce development. The FTA creates new opportunities for collaboration, including services such as tertiary and higher education, while the elevation ties to a Strategic Partnership in July 2026 further strengthens the framework for education, skills and people-to-people engagement. Against this backdrop, the Connect provided a practical platform to explore how New Zealand’s applied learning experience can contribute to India’s evolving priorities around skills, employability and workforce development.
Held at the New Zealand High Commission, the Connect focused on an area of shared and growing priority for both countries: how education systems can build the applied skills and industry-connected learning that India’s evolving workforce increasingly requires. New Zealand’s Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) and Private Training Establishments (PTEs) brought experience in practical, industry-connected education into dialogue with India’s skills and education ecosystem.
Speaking at the Connect, Adrian Hirst, Regional Director- India and South Asia said“As India and New Zealand enter a stronger phase of their bilateral relationship, Education New Zealand remains committed to building deeper and more meaningful partnerships with India across education and skills. Applied Learning & Employability Connect 2026 reflects that commitment by bringing together India’s vision for a future-ready workforce with New Zealand’s strengths in applied and industry-connected education, creating opportunities for collaboration that can deliver lasting outcomes for learners, institutions and industry.”
Representatives from seven New Zealand institutions: Ara Institute of Canterbury, Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), New Zealand Skills and Education College (NZSE), Otago Polytechnic, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), and Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT), participated in the Connect, reflecting the growing institutional interest in strengthening New Zealand – India collaboration in applied learning and skills, translating this engagement into tangible outcomes.
The Connect also saw the signing of four MoUs between participating New Zealand and Indian institutions, creating new opportunities for collaboration and international learning pathways. These included an agreement between Manukau Institute of Technology and Unitec with ASB Academy, supporting student pathways into Bachelor’s degree programmes in Business and Computing. Otago Polytechnic also signed an agreement with Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune and Vishwakarma University, Pune, covering student mobility and joint research. In addition, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) signed agreements with GSMS Maritime Training Institute and Sri Chakra Maritime Institute, creating new opportunities for international maritime qualifications.
The programme explored India’s evolving skills and workforce priorities through discussions on “Transforming Skills for Viksit Bharat @2047: Global Collaboration in Skill Education & Workforce Development” and “Navigating the Applied Learning Landscape: Insights from International Approaches,” highlighting opportunities for international collaboration, emerging partnership models and New Zealand’s applied learning strengths.
Education New Zealand will continue to deepen New Zealand – India collaboration in applied learning, skills and workforce development, building on the opportunities created by the FTA and Strategic Partnership between both countries.
