The Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) has signed a cooperation agreement with a New Zealand consulting company PINZ (Polytechnics International New Zealand) to give technical training to Saudi women. Under the terms of the deal, the New Zealand company will be able to establish and operate a technical training institution in the Kingdom – the first international one dedicated to training women. According to information made available to Saudi Gazette here on Tuesday, the agreement was signed by Dr. Ali Al-Ghafis, TVTC Governor, and Hone McGregor, PINZ chief executive, in the presence of New Zealand Minister of Trade Tim Groser, in Wellington, recently. It said the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has helped PINZ and other companies identify education and consultancy opportunities in the Middle East as part of its strategy to seek out long-term commercial opportunities and to help them develop solutions that meet the needs of international companies and governments. Steve Jones, NZTE operations manager for services, said the Saudi Arabian agreement was another acknowledgement that New Zealand's education consultancy services were highly regarded internationally. He said PINZ was one of 10 companies taking part in activities next month being coordinated by NZTE to raise the profile of New Zealand's consulting capabilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. “This agreement between PINZ and TVTC provides evidence that New Zealand's education and consultancy expertise is in demand internationally and helps NZTE to raise awareness about our capabilities further,” Jones said. McGregor said the deal, which could be worth up to $150 million for New Zealand over the next five years, follows a similar one concluded by PINZ to develop a polytechnic in Bahrain.
