The drama teachers’ association says the government has made a mistake by omitting technologies that support the creative arts from its list of new industry-led school subjects.

The nine subjects would be developed by industry skills boards to provide clear pathways to further training and jobs for secondary school students in Years 12-13.

Whakaari Aotearoa Drama New Zealand said it should have included a subject that covered areas like lighting, sound, staging, costume, and set design.

The organisation’s president Annette Thomson said failing to do so would sever students’ pathway into industries such as film and television that had critical skill shortages.