Feroz Ali returns home to purchase NZ Fashion Tech

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Auckland, August 19, 2017

New Zealand is back on the radar for entrepreneur and tertiary education heavyweight Feroz Ali, who moved to Canada two years ago to launch an international education company, Asia Pacific Education (APEDU).

This month, Mr Ali will purchase NZ Fashion Tech, an award-winning fashion and garment technology college which delivers training to more than 200 students each year at its three campuses.

Expanding horizons

NZ Fashion Tech is a Category One provider (the highest possible NZQA ranking), and is the first New Zealand acquisition for APEDU, whose portfolio already includes top Canadian tertiary education providers Canadian Tourism College, CG Masters School of 3D Animation & VFX, and Sterling College.

A leader in vocational training for the fashion industry, NZ Fashion Tech graduates can be found at the forefront of the fashion field, both here and overseas.

“NZ Fashion Tech has been around longer than many schools in New Zealand and is an amazing example of a small private training establishment (PTE) punching above its weight. It is a school that prides itself on always staying relevant to the fashion industry, and the calibre of training it delivers is exceptional,” Mr Ali said.

PM’s Scholarship

He said that for the fourth year in succession, Che college has been awarded the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia.

“This is unprecedented, thanks to this scholarship, 15 of our students are currently spending six weeks in India learning about the apparel and textile industry. It is a life-changing opportunity for them,” he said.

Fashion Week coming up

Another highlight on the NZ Fashion Tech calendar is the upcoming New Zealand Fashion Week, when 16 of its students will showcase their silk creations at the highly-anticipated Resene Designer Runway event.

It is the ultimate kick-start to a budding fashion designer’s career.

“These kinds of events, and this kind of industry recognition, is what gives our graduates the leading edge in this highly competitive industry,” Mr Ali said.

In addition to NZ Fashion Tech, plans are in the pipeline for further APEDU acquisitions here in New Zealand.

Mr Ali said that New Zealand will always be his home and that he knows best the private tertiary sector.

About Feroz Ali

Mr Ali is a highly respected leader in the private education sector both here and abroad. He founded New Zealand Career College (NZCC) in 2004, selling it to Academic Colleges Group (ACG) ten years later, before being appointed to the role of Divisional Chief Executive for ACG’s tertiary division.

He was instrumental in ACG’s acquisition of NZMA and the New Zealand School of Tourism, helping grow the newly-formed ACG Tertiary & Careers Group to over 6000 students. It became the largest funded PTE in New Zealand within the first 12 months. He was also part of the executive team involved in the sale of ACG to Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) in 2015.

Significant achievements

In addition, Ali has chaired peak body group Independent Tertiary Institutions (now Quality Tertiary Institutions), and has worked closely with Education New Zealand to help lift industry and institutional performance and contribute to the development of an international education strategy for New Zealand.

In Canada, he serves on the Board of Directors for the BC Council for International Education by the Ministry of Advanced Education.

For Mr Ali, reinvesting in New Zealand is an opportunity to share his enthusiasm, passion and expertise, and help shape the future of New Zealand’s tertiary education sector.

“I am delighted to be bringing the knowledge I acquired in Canada back home. I’m here to do things slightly differently – to shake things up a little!” he said.

Editor’s Note: Indian Newslink has been proud to be associated with Feroz Ali since 2004 when he established the New Zealand Career College (NZCC), which was the Sponsor of the ‘Business Excellence in Business with India’ Category of the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards from 2011 to 2015, when he left for Canada. We look forward to working with him in promoting his interests in the education sector, in which he is known for his honesty, integrity and high level of professionalism.

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