Apprenticeship Journey - December 2022 - Nail that assessment, finish the year strong, free counselling for apprentices...

Nailing that Assessment is a regular section in our newsletters designed to help you do just that, nail that assessment. In this issue, we cover off Be Awesome where one of the practical assessment tasks looks at your peer leadership skills.

In the module Be Awesome, you will learn about leadership qualities and how to demonstrate leadership in accordance with your own strengths and your role in your organisation.

This is where you can put into practice the use of inclusive, strengths-based, gender-neutral and empowering language. Mindfulness around your language, behaviour and using appropriate terminology inside and outside of work is a key leadership attribute.

Being inclusive in your words and in your ways of interacting will support the observation requirements in Be Awesome. You can easily get a tick for…

Dave Letele's life has taken him from crime to community, footy to failure, riches to rags (and back again), and from fat to fit. Dave says, "I've been at the bottom and the top, and everything in between...if I can do it, you can."

We're giving away three copies of his book 'No Excuses'. Simply answer three questions by 15 December 2022 to go into the draw to win 1 of 3 copies of No Excuses. Follow the link below.

We'll contact the winners via email, so don't forget to provide your email address at the end of the quiz.

Follow the link to enter the quiz:
https://careerforce.research.net/r/AppDec22

Christchurch manager Rebecca (Bella) Aitken is passionate about supporting kids who are struggling.

Bella manages Kiwi Family Trust, a social service agency that is yielding great results for their tamariki and whānau.

Bella says she feels more empowered in her role and confident in her ability, having completed the NZ Apprenticeship in Youth Work.

Now that she has completed the apprenticeship, she’s moving onto the NZ Diploma in Business (Leadership and Management) with Careerforce.

When Jasmine “Jazz” Teleiai received her Level 4 Certificate in Health and Wellbeing in August, she bawled her eyes out crying. “It was the reassurance that I was on the right path,” she says.

The 23-year-old is a Ringa-ki-Runga support worker for Strive Community Trust in Papatoetoe, where she is supporting families into transitional housing.

It’s the second role she’s had at Strive, after starting out as a youth worker, and where she has just completed her Level 4 Apprenticeship in Youth Work through Careerforce.

It’s that time of the year when we normally reflect on the past year. We encourage you to take the time to slow down for a bit and think about what you’ve accomplished in your apprenticeship programme. But for those who want to carry on and finish strong, here are some ideas for you to work on or consider during the holidays.

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 take out the training plan and see where you’re at. If you find you’re falling behind, that’s okay. Have a chat with your assessor or advisor to revise the plan.

2.       Carry on with the learning.
Even if you haven’t heard back about an assessment, you can carry on with your learning. You can access Aka Toi even during the holidays (but make sure you have a break!).

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

4.       Start thinking about your Exceed topic.
If you’re doing the Exceed module, you can start thinking about a topic for your research. Ask for some ideas from your fellow apprentices through the Careerforce Apprenticeship Facebook Group. Their suggestions may spark inspiration for a topic.

5.       Plan for the year ahead.
The beauty of doing on-the-job training is that you can do it at your own pace. You’re the only person who knows best how much you can do within your schedule. Have a plan for next year about what you want to accomplish and discuss this with your assessor or apprenticeship advisor.

Please note that Careerforce offices will be closed over the holiday break and staff are taking a break. Our offices close at midday on Thursday, 22 December, and will re-open on Thursday, 5 January 2023.

Although Careerforce offices are closed at these times, you can still work on your assessments over the holidays and submit them for marking. Bear in mind that there will be delays in marking assessments by Careerforce staff over this time.

IMPORTANT - only submit one task at a time
Although we encourage you to work on your modules over the break if you're able, 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. As staff will be on holiday, they won't be able to give you the prompt feedback they normally provide to help guide you.