As the two governments make attempts to boost trade links, New Zealand Universities are set to benefit from an increased drive for Vietnamese students to study in New Zealand.

New Zealand Universities are keen to take advantage of the increase in young Vietnamese people heading offshore for tertiary education. Currently there are around 2000 Vietnamese students in New Zealand but that number is set to increase by 30 per cent over a two year period as part of a new education partnership agreed between the two countries.

Education Minister Steven Joyce has recently made the comment that the education sector in New Zealand can reap big rewards as Vietnams young population grows wealthier by the day.

“More Vietnamese students means more income for the universities, it’s also more income for the towns they study in and it’s beneficial for New Zealand’s long-term interests,” he told NZ Newswire.

“The more we inter-relate with young Vietnamese, they tend to be the ones who move on to positions in companies, in businesses and in government, and that helps us in just the same well it helps us in China.”

Prime Minister John Key has been accompanied by representatives from major New Zealand universities in Hanoi as part of a trade mission in Vietnam which is New Zealand’s fastest growing market in south east Asia.

New Zealand’s foreign student market has a value of multiple billions of dollars annually and is a vital source of would be skilled migrants that New Zealand needs to fuel it’s growing economy. This new agreement with Vietnam is a clear sign that New Zealand is ready and willing to tap into the growing markets of the world and is keen to remain a key player in the international education market.

David Fisher

New Zealand Shores Law and Policy Advisor