New Zealand and Australia are aiming to jointly develop tertiary and vocational education to meet the needs of employers on both sides of the Tasman, New Zealand Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce said Wednesday.

Joyce said he would be the first New Zealand Minister to attend Australia's Ministerial Standing Council on Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment (SCOTESE) meeting in Melbourne on Friday, where he would engage with Australian counterparts and prepare for New Zealand to host the next meeting of Ministers in Auckland in June next year.

"This meeting will allow us to look for opportunities for joint work with Australia on tertiary and vocational education and will enable us to identify ideas to further improve New Zealand tertiary education," Joyce said in a statement.

"I will also be taking the opportunity to meet with large Australian employers and industry representatives, associated with the Standing Council, to discuss their current needs and priorities," he said.

SCOTESE, which held its inaugural meeting in November last year, was set up to ensure that Australia's current and future workforce needs were met through increased participation, educational attainment, skills development and use to achieve greater productivity.