Skills for Good - April 2023: Supporting learners to excel, Pasifika study hubs, Leadership programme success... and more

Tēnā koutou

As I have previously shared, 2023 represents a significant year of change for our Careerforce kaimahi as the Te Pūkenga organisation takes shape. However, for our employers and learners, this should all happen in the background – there may be change over time, but we can only see this as being positive change. As the growth of work-based learning is a key priority for Te Pūkenga, we are excited about the future opportunities that will increasingly become available to improve learner outcomes, and we remain committed to championing the needs of our employers and ākonga (learners) through the transition.

A couple of important reminders from me. We know from our annual employer survey that the most significant challenges you continue to face are around workforce shortages and funding, so make sure you list your vacancies for free on our Jobs for Good site – it’s free, and specifically targeted at care and support roles across our sectors. A second reminder from me is that while free enrolment via the Government’s Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF) is no longer available, Apprenticeship Boost remains available until the end of this year, and the Government’s Fees Free programme is again available. You can find further information about each of these in this issue of Skills for Good.

As always, I welcome your feedback. Feel free to email me at Rod.Bentham@careerforce.org.nz.

Ngā mihi nui

Rod Bentham
Executive Director
Te Pūkenga, trading as Careerforce

Just a reminder about the availability of the Dementia Care Limited Credit Programme (LCP) - this has an expected duration of 4 months, and replaced the previous Dementia LCP (with a duration of 6 months) in 2022. The unit standards in this programme meet the requirements of the Age-Related Residential Care Services Agreement (ARRC) 2022.

We recognise that this is a compulsory requirement for people working within some dementia environments, and also that as a Level 4 programme, some aspects of the programme can be quite challenging for some learners. Careerforce has specialists in dementia care practice, and are happy to support your team should they require extra supports. Please reach out to your Careerforce workplace advisor.

Further information on this programme is available on the Careerforce website.

The training support section of the Careerforce website gives advice not only for new learners to help get them started, but for those already on their learning journey, to help them stay engaged and motivated throughout.

Trainees can learn about the who, what and when of workplace training, their rights and responsibilities as a learner, study tips, and more. They can find out how to access resources from the Careerforce library and view and download their training progress reports via a secure portal. To see this and additional support, including an explanation on how the assessment process works, please direct your learners to this page: www.careerforce.org.nz/training-support

The first Talanoa launched in 2018 to support Pasifika apprentices in the Auckland region. Since then, the initiative has grown to a national scale, extending out to the regions and to our Pasifika ākonga (learners) of all levels – from those enrolled in a Level 2 certificate up to the Level 5 business diploma.

The delivery of Careerforce’s Talanoa study hubs is a team effort, bringing together Pasifika ākonga so they can connect with others in their area and receive tailored learning support from the Careerforce Pasifika team.

“It’s about connecting with other Pasifika ākonga on the same journey. We learn about each other and from each other,” says Careerforce Pacific Lead, Laloifi Ripley. “It’s also an opportunity for Careerforce to listen to our learners and find out what support they need from us, then provide it.”

The Careerforce Talanoa study hubs are an opportunity to receive one-to-one support from Careerforce’s Pasifika team, including Learning Engagement Advisors, Workplace Advisors and Apprenticeship Advisors. It’s this collaborative effort that contributes to their success.

The leadership and management programme is proving to be a success for leaders and operational managers with direct reports and their employers. The programme was developed specifically for those working in the health, mental health, aged support, disability, social services, youth work, cleaning and urban pest management industries.

The programme has 120 credits and an expected duration of 20 months. Learners may be eligible for Fees Free training. To find out more and to check eligibility, see our Fees Free page. 'Read More', for more about the Level 5 leadership programme.

Adrienne McEnaney and Susan Leask help to support people to live their best life possible. From Westport to Hokitika they manage teams of staff running homes for people with mental health issues and intellectual disabilities.

Thanks to a Careerforce work-based leadership programme, and support from their employer Pact, the two Service Coordinators prove it’s never too late to boost your management skills.

Adrienne and Susan have successfully completed the New Zealand Diploma in Business, Leadership and Management (Level 5) through Careerforce.

Upskilling its 600 staff is a key focus for the organisation. Pact Knowledge and Learning Manager, Becks Edwards, says “We’re really committed, to supporting all staff, to add to their qualifications. It keeps them motivated and definitely enhances their work."

Anna Gerretzen shows that opportunities can exist for cleaners who embrace lifelong learning to move into cleaning management.

A Level 2 cleaning certificate was just the start for Anna. She is now putting the final touches to her Level 5 Leadership Diploma thanks to support from Careerforce.

The Team Leader at Palmerston North City Council is also a Careerforce registered assessor for countless cleaners across the region.

Anna’s upskilling began during her time as a hospital cleaner where the level 2 and 3 cleaning programmes were strongly encouraged as part of the job.

There she was also enrolled in the contagion and specialised infection control cleaning programme and the supervision strand.

While free enrolment via TTAF may have expired at the end of 2022, the Government’s Fees Free programme is again available to potentially cover apprenticeship enrolment fees ($2000 incl GST). Additionally, eligible employers can still apply for Apprenticeship Boost funding of $500 per month per active enrolled apprentice. But hurry as the funding is only available through to December 2023. The sooner you enrol a new apprentice, the more Apprenticeship Boost funding you could receive across the remainder of 2023.

More information on Apprenticeship Boost can be found here, and Fees Free here.