Whitireia and WelTec to shut creative campus, axe 48 jobs
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Whitireia and WelTec’s central Wellington campus will close at the end of year, with the loss of 48 jobs as it continues to fight towards financial sustainability.
The news on Wednesday comes after the Government announcement at the beginning of the week on which polytechnics will be able to stand alone by the end of the year.
Whitireia and WelTec, which combined in 2012, were among four which would continue to operate under Te Pūkenga as they worked toward financial viability. A decision on their future was due in the first half of 2026.
The others were NorthTec, Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT), and Tai Poutini Polytechnic.
Meanwhile, 10 polytechnics will be “returning to regional control”, Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds said. That included Otago Polytechnic and Universal College of Learning (UCOL), which would be part of a federation with The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand as the “anchor” polytechnic.
Dr Leanne Ivil, operations lead of Whitireia and WelTec, said it remained strongly focused on its financial viability to ensure it could transition to the new vocational education system in 2026.
“Our goal is to be part of a successful system that is not only financially sustainable but also regionally responsive, academically rigorous, with a deep connection to iwi, industry and our communities.”
The total number of roles confirmed to be disestablished was 53.6 full-time equivalent positions (FTE). Taking into account reduction in roles and confirmed new roles, the net reduction was 48.6 FTE, Ivil said.
“This represents a net reduction in 7.03 FTE in people management roles, and 41.57 FTE other roles.”
It would also close Te Kāhui Auaha campus at the end of the year and focus on teaching at campus locations in Porirua and Petone.
“This has been a hard decision to make but as a vocational education provider for the wider Wellington region we are not funded to provide performing and creative arts infrastructure,” Ivil said.
The city campus was built to accommodate 1000 ākonga (students) which was never achieved and meant it was not possible to continue operating from a building that was unaffordable.
“This is part of the difficult but necessary decisions we are making to ensure that our campuses are consolidated for the size and scale of Whitireia and WelTec today, so we can move into 2026 with a viable and sustainable budget.”
Most ākonga studying at Te Kāhui Auaha would complete their study there this year. For ākonga in 2026 it meant all programmes currently delivered in Te Kāhui Auaha would move to the Whitireia and WelTec Petone campus.
The lease of the building will be decided by the council of Te Pūkenga, she said.
Arts leaders in the capital previously expressed their devastation when it was first announced that the critical education and incubation space for artists, could close.
People in Wellington’s arts scene were also concerned about what may happen to the two accessible, affordable performance spaces inside Te Auaha which the community regularly used, seating 216 and 60 patrons respectively. The campus also has a cinema, gallery and rehearsal studios.
Vanessa Stacey, the director of Fringe, had hosted dozens of shows at Te Auaha and previously said the site was a big part of Wellington’s arts community. Fringe, CubaDupa and the Creative Capital Arts Trust supported many of Te Auaha’s graduates as they stepped into their art practice, she said.
Whitireia and WelTec had already cut 12 non-teaching staff.
The polytechs had a steep drop in enrolments – from 6547 domestic full-time students and 1219 international in 2018, to 3571 domestic and 301.5 international students last year.
They went into 2025 in a deficit, according to a consultation report released under the Official Information Act.
Staff and union members fretted about the proposed cuts put on the table in a bid to save $12 million, with the biggest impact falling on diverse, priority learners.
During Wednesday’s Question Time in Parliament, Simmonds confirmed 620 FTEs had been cut since she took office, including 150 jobs in Te Pūkenga’s head office.
The 10 polytechnics “returning to regional control” are:
Ara Institute of Canterbury;
Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT);
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT);
Southern Institute of Technology (SIT);
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology;
Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec);
Unitec Institute of Technology and Manukau Institute of Technology (to operate as a single entity);
Otago Polytechnic;
Universal College of Learning (UCOL); and
The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand.