Vocational education and training and social capital in New Zealand

Abstract

There is much interest from researchers and from third way governments in the concept of social capital. Debate exists over whether or not government interventions create or destroy social capital. This article explores the relationship between the vocational education and training (VET) policies of the New Zealand Labour Government and social capital. Although no empirical evidence is presented, by drawing on official evaluations of the Labour Government' s key VET programmes and other documents, this paper argues that the Labour Government appears to have created social capital. However, it appears to be narrow in scope, it resides in the networks of professional providers and employers and it is highly regulated.