Workers at Witt facing the axe

Staff could be under the axe at Witt as the Taranaki polytech struggles to meet the terms of its $11 million debt write-off.

Just after posting its first surplus in seven years, the institution has been told it must continue to make a three per cent profit until the end of 2011 despite facing massive funding cuts.

Chief executive Richard Handley outlined his preliminary plan for cutting costs to his staff this week.

The plan included limiting the increase of student numbers, fee increases and was "likely to have some impact on staff numbers", Mr Handley said.

"It's far too early to comment on redundancies just yet. We don't know how many there will be. But we will work as best we can with vacancies and staff attrition," he said.

The polytech was undertaking the changes with some reluctance, Mr Handley said, and would have liked more time given the significant recent improvement.

"But we are getting on with the job in order that we are well placed in good time," he said.

Witt's budget will be cut by a minimum of $2.2 million next year and the Tertiary Education Commission has already expressed its doubts about the polytech staying viable enough to make the required surplus.

If that happened, the debt could be put back on Witt's balance sheet, along with the $5 million it has to repay between 2020 and 2025.

However, Mr Handley said he was not contemplating failure.

"We are determined to see it through."

He said the staff were well aware of the challenge and they had been discussing it for some time. No formal decisions would be made until the middle of next month.

Meanwhile, the "ginger group" or ideas committee proposed by Witt council chairwoman Mary Bourke is yet to be set up. Hopefully, the group would generate ideas on how to produce partnerships between the polytech and its local community, Ms Bourke said. Its intention was to make Witt the preferred choice for Taranaki people – whether for work or study, she said.