It has long been a challenge to keep our young people in Nelson. After growing up in the city, too many head away to attend university or find work. We’d like more of them to stay – and to attract other young people from around NZ and abroad – because they add so much vibrancy to our city as well as injecting innovation and energy into our businesses.
The Government’s announcement in July that NMIT will become a standalone polytechnic again provides more educational incentives for our young people to stay. We have a unique range of industries with specialist skills such as our fishing and aquaculture sectors that produce 60% of NZ’s seafood exports. A standalone NMIT will be nimbler in responding to the training requirements so our young people can learn the skills to build their careers and stay in Nelson.
An independent and lively NMIT – along with Nelson’s enviable climate and wonderful natural assets – will also be an amazing drawcard for young people from around NZ and the world. International student numbers have rebounded from 105 in 2022 to 298 in 2025 but are still much lower than the pre-Covid total of over 500. This growth in internationals has helped boost the overall FTE student total from 2190 in 2022 to 2374 in 2025. The goal is to keep growing.
A new social events group, Meet Nelson, aims to provide fun ways for young Nelsonians, aged 21 to 39, to connect. This is a great idea because if our young people build strong networks, they are more likely to stay. The Meet Nelson team have held two events so far – a Neon 90s Quiz Night in June and a 2000s Quiz Night last month. Both were sellouts.
The next event is a fun Casino Night this Saturday at The Granary in Founders. Whakatū Rotary is helping and the games – using fake money – will be explained to newcomers who will also be introduced to the other players at the table. Tickets are still available at https://events.humanitix.com/meet-nelson-casino-night. My thanks to Whakatū Rotary and Meet Nelson for helping to make Nelson more attractive for young people who are an essential part of Council’s plans to revitalise the city centre.
