Apprenticeship Journey - December 2021 - Meri Kirihimete, tips for studying through the holidays, meet a fellow apprentice, and more

...to the final apprenticeship newsletter of the year. Well done for pushing on with your apprenticeship programme despite what for many has been another very challenging year.

Please note that our Careerforce offices will be closed over the holiday break, closing midday on Thursday 23 December, and re-opening on Thursday 6 January 2022. Although Careerforce offices are closed over this time, you can still work on your assessments over the holidays and submit them for marking. Bear in mind however that there will be delays in the marking of assessments by Careerforce staff over this time.

We hope you're still able to take time during the holiday season to relax, recharge and reconnect with the people that are important to you. Enjoy the holidays and we'll be in touch in 2022!

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Meri Kirihimete from the Careerforce whānau to yours.

It’s that time of the year when we often reflect on the past twelve months, and we encourage you to take the time to think about what you’ve accomplished in your apprenticeship programme. For those of you who want to work during the holidays, here are some ideas.

1.       Review your training plan.
At the start of your apprenticeship journey, you would have sat down with your assessor or Apprenticeship Advisor to agree on your training plan. How are you tracking? It’s a good time to see where you’re at. If you find you’re falling behind, make a note to have a chat with your assessor next year to revise the plan.

2. Continue with your learning.
Even if you haven’t heard back from your assessor about an assessment, you can still carry on doing the learning. You can access Aka Toi over the Christmas break period and submit assessments. As mentioned earlier, there may however be delays in the marking of assessments over this time.

3.     Prepare for your practical assessments.
You'll know which of your assessments are practical assessments. Think about preparing for them, so you can make progress in the new year.

4.       Start thinking about your "Exceed" topic.
If you’re doing the Exceed module, you may want to think about a topic for your research. Your fellow apprentices may have some suggestions. Check out the Apprenticeship Facebook Group for inspiration.

5.       Plan for the year ahead.
One of the benefits of on-the-job training is that you can progress at your own pace. You know best what you can achieve within your own schedule. Develop a plan for next year about what you want to accomplish and discuss this with your assessor or Apprenticeship Advisor early in the new year.

IMPORTANT - only submit one task
Although we encourage you to work on your modules over the break, please remember, it is important that you ONLY submit one task within a module for marking during the break. Feel free to work on other tasks, but please don’t submit these until the first task has been assessed. This is because we are on holiday and won't be able to give you the prompt feedback we always provide to help guide you.

The 19-year-old from Takapau is an Activities Assistant at Waipukurau’s Woburn Rest Home. It’s a role she never knew even existed just over a year ago.

“It didn’t even occur to me that there would be an activities role in rest homes, even though it does make sense now that I’ve done it.”

Nika lifts the satisfaction of her residents by trialling all sorts of activities that they’d never done before. There’s been a Mexican fiesta, teddy bear tea parties and even water balloon fights.