NMIT details delayed

Details of the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology's proposal to restructure and cut jobs as part of a $1 million spending reduction have been delayed until next week.

The final decision on the proposal was expected to be released to the public today, after staff were told yesterday, but NMIT chief executive Tony Gray said this would now happen next week.

Mr Gray was in Blenheim yesterday speaking with Marlborough campus employees, who were expected to find out today if the restructuring affected them.

Of the proposed 11 job cuts across the Marlborough and Nelson campuses, at least four Marlborough staff are known to be affected, including the campus' fulltime manager, Lily Belabun, and the nearly fulltime programme leader, Anne Barrer.

Marlborough accounts for about 2.7 or 2.8 of the fulltime equivalent positions under threat. The cuts are the result of concerns over "significant challenges" facing the campus, the proposal says.

These include the cost of running the Marlborough campus, a relatively low participation rate for the size of the population, and concerns that the "niche" provision of viticulture and wine programmes "would appear thus far not to have achieved its potential".

The cost-cutting is needed to meet a government-imposed 3 per cent surplus target for the 2010 financial year, with about $1m needing to be saved, NMIT says.

- The Marlborough Express