BCITO, Competenz, Connexis and MITO: who runs your apprenticeship in 2026

Who runs BCITO, Competenz, Connexis and MITO now?

Each one was a division of Te Pūkenga’s work-based learning arm until the end of 2025. When Te Pūkenga was disestablished on 1 January 2026, its work-based learning moved to the new Industry Skills Boards for a two-year transition, and the boards stop managing training from 1 January 2028. Some training organisations moved straight on to industry ownership; others are still inside a board for now. This is where each stood when we read their own pages in October 2026:

The background, including the eight Industry Skills Boards and what happens in 2028, is in who runs apprenticeships in New Zealand now.

BCITO: building and construction

BCITO is the name most building apprentices know: carpentry and the other construction trades. It says it has moved to industry ownership as a new private training establishment, BCITO Ltd, approved by the Construction and Specialist Trades Industry Skills Board, NZQA and the TEC, and that it delivers work-based training as a provider from 1 January 2026. For apprentices and employers, BCITO says nothing needs doing: same people, same programmes. Our building and carpentry apprenticeship page has the pay, length and entry requirements.

Competenz: manufacturing and engineering

Competenz covers the engineering and manufacturing trades: fitting and machining, fabrication and welding and many smaller manufacturing industries. From 1 January 2026 it moved from Te Pūkenga to the Manufacturing and Engineering Industry Skills Board, trading as Competenz, which it calls the first phase of a staged transition. Current, former and pending enrolments moved across automatically, and Competenz says employers and trainees don’t need new training agreements.

The second phase is under way. In March 2026 Competenz set up an interim board to incorporate Competenz Limited and take it out of the Industry Skills Board structure, with the aim of becoming a fully established private training provider by 2027. It also says some smaller sectors it supports, such as baking and furniture, are likely to move to other specialist providers. If you are in one of those, ask Competenz who will hold your training next. See engineering apprenticeships, fitter and welder for the trades themselves.

Connexis: civil, energy, telecommunications and water

Connexis trains people in civil infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and water. Since 1 January 2026 it has been a division of the Energy and Infrastructure Industry Skills Board, which it describes as a temporary home. NZQA has since registered Connexis Inc as a private training establishment, and in September 2026 Connexis said the TEC had approved its move to Connexis Inc, industry-owned and led, from 1 November 2026. It says all learners continue on their current programme, with no disruption to enrolments, assessment or support.

MITO: automotive, heavy vehicles and extractives

MITO covers the motor industry and extractives: light automotive, heavy vehicle and diesel, and the related trades. In December 2025 MITO announced the TEC had approved its transition to MITO Limited from 1 January 2026, via the Transport Industry Skills Board, returning it to industry ownership. It says all its current qualifications and micro-credentials remain available and that it keeps national coverage, including regional and remote areas. Our automotive technician and heavy diesel pages cover those apprenticeships.

What happened to Waihanga Ara Rau?

Waihanga Ara Rau was the Workforce Development Council for construction and infrastructure. It wrote and reviewed qualifications; it never employed or enrolled apprentices. The Workforce Development Councils were replaced by eight Industry Skills Boards on 1 January 2026, and NZQA’s 2026 qualification records list construction qualifications as transferred to the Construction and Specialist Trades Industry Skills Board. If you see Waihanga Ara Rau on an older document, it refers to who set the standard, not who runs your training.

What this means if you’re mid-apprenticeship

• Your qualification hasn’t changed. All four organisations say current learners carry on with the same programme. The organisation behind the logo is what changed.
• You shouldn’t need to re-sign. Competenz says so explicitly; BCITO and Connexis say nothing needs doing. If anyone asks you to sign a new training agreement, ask why.
• Keep your own records. A copy of your training plan and your credit record makes any handover painless, especially with one more change due by 2028.
• Fees and pay rules are the same. See apprenticeship fees and what apprentices must be paid.

Starting an apprenticeship now?

The order hasn’t changed: find the employer first, and the training organisation for your trade is arranged around the job. How to get an apprenticeship walks through it, and our index of employers that take apprentices is a place to find names. Already an apprentice? Rate your apprenticeshipso the next person knows what it’s like from the inside.

Common questions

Each organisation’s status is from its own page: BCITO, BCITO returning to industry ownership; Competenz, What's happening (reform of vocational education); Connexis, The future of industry training; MITO, MITO to transition to industry ownership (11 December 2025); and Competenz, Competenz establishes interim board as transition to private training enterprise progresses (27 March 2026), all read 2026-10-25. The Industry Skills Board dates are from the Ministry of Education, Redesign of the Vocational Education and Training System. The “trades it covers” column is a plain summary, not each organisation’s full list.