12 Aug 2016

Unitec to close down Albany campus

6:41 pm on 12 August 2016

Auckland's Unitec - the country's largest polytechnic - is to close down one of its campuses at the end of the year.

Unitec Campus in Mt Albert

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

Courses run from Albany included building, carpentry, computing and IT.

The polytechnic said it was leaving the northern campus because student enrolments, particularly in the trades, had not met expectations.

Courses and staff would be transferred to the institution's Mount Albert campus.

The closure is part of a major redesign of Unitec which was announced last year and included 300 job losses, as well as upgrading of facilities.

Unitec chief executive Rick Ede said the North Shore was a difficult area to get a foothold in.

"It's actually quite a competitive market, the tertiary education on the North Shore, with Massey University, AUT, and a number of private training institutions. But also, we've always known that because we have a leased campus, it was never in exactly the right place, so there were some challenges in the location, as well."

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