Higher Education

New Zealand's tertiary education sector is constantly under internal and external pressure. Institutions must adapt to using advanced technology, maximising the potential of their staff, establishing sustainable funding models, and working more efficiently. These efforts are essential to learner success and to achieve the best student experience possible.

Focus points for institutions

Institutions should focus on:
ensuring they have the right technology solutions in place to support back, middle and front office.
enhancing financial performance and diversifying revenue streams in response to reduced government funding.
linking tertiary education and the development of vocational skills to deliver improved social and economic outcomes.
managing supply and demand forces in domestic and international student markets.
responding to changing needs of students to support their success.

Mair Brooks

Partner, Infrastructure Advisory – Major Projects and Infrastructure

KPMG in New Zealand

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How we can help

Our commitment to fostering New Zealand's prosperity aims to create a ripple effect that will ultimately benefit our communities and all New Zealanders, ensuring a more prosperous future for everyone.

KPMG works across the education sector on a range of complex issues and can provide support with the following challenges and opportunities faced by the sector:

Changing learner needs

Learner success looks different for Gen Z and future cohorts; driven by different values, needs and expectations. Tertiary education needs to transition away from being institution-led and become learner-led for an enhanced learner experience that supports wellbeing. Learners are defining their own version of success by embracing flexible modes of learning, improved equity, access, and inclusion, and a clear path to job-readiness.
Technology as a key enabler of success (for learners and the sector)

Learners demand technology to optimise their experience; technology enables flexible learning which gives learners more choice for fitting learning into their lives (rather than their lives fitting around learning). Technology also commoditises education, and risk and quality need to be carefully balanced. While investment in data and technology improves efficiency, drives performance, and informs decision-making, digital transformation needs to be supported by staff capability.
To maximise investment in the sector

The sector needs to leverage what’s working well, make trade-offs, align sector players, reduce waste, improve efficiency, and validate its relevance. There are opportunities for a new strategic long-term vision that sets the sector up for changing needs. There is also a need for stronger correlation between ‘what learners study’ and ‘what learners do’ post-study to maximise the investment/ returns to the New Zealand economy.
Financial sustainability and funding opportunities

This includes exploring research commercialisation as an option to provide new funding revenues for the sector, balanced growth in the international student sector, and international partnerships.

Our dedicated team of professionals can assist clients in tertiary education, as well as the strategic planners, funders and influencers of educational services in the following areas:

strategy and transformation

services enabled by technology

managing risk in a rapidly changing environment.

workforce culture, planning and optimisation
smarter, leaner support services

Our dedicated team of professionals assists clients in tertiary education, as well as the strategic planners, funders and influencers of educational services.