On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Monday 21st of July 2025, inflation figures are out today which will help paint a picture of how the economy is doing, ASB Senior Economist Mark Smith tells Ryan where he thinks the figure will land.

Andrew Alderson has the latest on the weekend's sport.

The Government's promised movement for six billion dollars worth of infrastructure projects, Civil Contractors NZ Chief Executive tells Ryan how the industry will react to all the jobs it will create.

Plus UK/Europe Correspondent Gavin Grey has the latest on thousands of Afghans whose personal details were leaked not expected to receive any compensation.

Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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A warning that a stretched workforce could threaten the future of the country's infrastructure.

Six billion dollars of projects including roads, schools and hospitals will kick off between now and late December.

Civil Contractors New Zealand Chief Executive Allan Pollard says 15-thousand construction workers have lost their jobs over the past year.

He told Ryan Bridge the next six months will be achievable - but it could be a strain longer term.

Pollard says we need to do some major scaling up of the work force over the next two years.

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If we could mark NCEA level One... would it even get an achieved. let alone a merit or excellence?

We heard at the weekend about an ERO report.

Basically, said the whole system is too flexible. Kids are scooping up credits from all corners of the classroom.

It's too broad and flexible, they reckon.

As a result, students aren't being properly taught core subjects.

The government's looking it. But there was a number in this report which should jump out at all parents and teachers.

22%.

In 2024, just 22% of NCEA results came from external assessment. Which means exams.

The bulk of credits come from internal assessments - stuff like essays.

This means kids can use AI and all sorts to do the work for them.

One in four don't bother sitting the exams because they've already got enough internal credits.

I went through the NCEA system and this happened to me too - but I would never dream of skipping an exam and missing out on credits.

Clearly, something has to be done.

What hope do we give students if they're not being taught the basics and not being assessed properly?

Until something's done, bad headlines and reports like this one will just keep undermining the qualification so many young people rely on to get through their working lives.

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