Three of Wellington's biggest tertiary providers want to join forces to start an information technology course to train people to fill hundreds of job vacancies, Radio New Zealand reports.
Victoria University, Wellington Institute of Technology and Whitireia New Zealand have put their case for the graduate school to the Government.
Information technology (IT) is being hit hard by a skill shortage. A TradeMe search shows more than 250 jobs in the industry in Wellington paying more than $100,000 a year.
Many in the industry say there are just not enough people to do the work.
To combat that, the Government has announced a $28.6 million investment over four years, for three new IT schools, and tertiary groups in Wellington want to run one together.
Victoria University's Mike Wilson said universities and polytechnics already offered technology courses, but too few people took them, and some graduates did not come out with the skills needed to get them jobs.
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Barry O'Brien, a recruiter at Enterprise Recruitment who specialises in IT hiring, said employers had to look overseas to fill roles. “Companies are becoming very relaxed about hiring over Skype.”
The Tertiary Education Commission has the final say on whether the school gets the green light, as well as others in Auckland and Christchurch.
The Government expects they could be up and running as soon as halfway through next year.