Skills for Good - March 2023: Latest prospectus, revised apprenticeships and more

Tena koutou

It’s certainly a bumper issue this month, and a reflection of just how much is going on across Careerforce and Te Pūkenga. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read the content, and if you have any issues or queries, please touch base with your regular Careerforce contact.

We are excited to include a story about the official launch of our revised social and community services apprenticeships. These have been some time in development, and have involved extensive consultation with our sectors. Timely to also provide a reminder that Apprenticeship Boost payments remain available until the end of the year, and where eligible employers can claim $500/mth for apprentices in their first or second year of their apprenticeship.

We also feature a story detailing the initiatives we have underway to support our priority audiences, notably our Māori, Pasifika and disabled learners.

Ngā mihi nui

Rod Bentham
Executive Director
Te Pūkenga, trading as Careerforce

To better meet the needs of the community-based support workforce, we have released six revised apprenticeship programmes. These revised programmes lead to the awarding of the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Social and Community Services) (Level 4) and are delivered as the:

The diversity of Careerforce’s apprentices was a major focus in the redevelopment of these programmes. With their release, the experience of the apprentice will be one that provides more equitable and accessible opportunities to succeed.

Representatives from the social and community services sector were extensively consulted during the review of the apprenticeship programmes. Improvements were then made to the learning and assessment material to align with the latest practice, and the user experience has been vastly improved on Careerforce’s online learning and assessment portal, Aka Toi.

How we support our disabled learners

Careerforce is committed to improving outcomes for our disabled learners, working with a lived experience advisory group to ensure our programmes are accessible and fit-for-purpose. Among the initiatives, disabled learners are assessed to identify individual support needs. The functionality of Aka Toi, our online learning platform is being developed to support learners with different impairments. Learners are given awareness and support to use assistive technologies and will be given more flexibility around time to complete assessments. Careerforce assessors are also being upskilled to better understand the needs of our disabled learners.

Training is given high priority for staff at Christchurch’s Hoon Hay Rest Home, with some impressive outcomes.
Franziska Gloor is Village Manager at Hoon Hay.

The former teacher’s enthusiasm for learning is turning some staff from unwilling trainee, to successful graduate to confident professional.

Activities Coordinator Naomi Carruthers was a reluctant learner, but with support from Franziska, and Careerforce, she has now successfully completed her apprenticeship in Diversional Therapy.
“Naomi hadn’t done an official qualification in her life and was convinced she was never going to make it, but she did, and her ability to grow and learn things is amazing,” says Franziska.

“Education of my staff is at the very heart of providing our service,” says Franziska.

“If they don’t have the knowledge or skills, they can’t do their job well.”

Ruth Snowden has started a lot of things in her life that she hasn’t completed. “Something always got in the way, or I just lacked confidence,” says Ruth.

Thanks to her employer, Oceania Healthcare and Careerforce, Ruth is very proud to have successfully completed her Apprenticeship in Diversional Therapy.
“This has been a big accomplishment for me. I feel very proud that I’ve done it, and very thankful,” says Ruth.

Ruth gained confidence through attending a noho marae, provided by Careerforce’s Rōpū Taupuhipuhi Āmio / National Mobile Support team. These events offer kanohi-ki-te-kanohi (face-to-face) support for Māori and other learners working with the Te Ao Māori unit standards in their programme.

“There was great encouragement from the tutors. I walked out of there feeling really uplifted, and thinking ‘I can do this, I can complete it to the end’. And now I feel very proud that I’ve done it.”

This is a reminder that it is a breach of the Privacy Act for personally identifiable information to be used in assessments.

The Careerforce Assessment Manual outlines that trainees must not disclose real names or personal identification of any person in their assessments except to their assessor during verbal discussions. Assessor notes about discussions will also protect the details of any person. Similarly, confidential details about the employer, other staff or the workplace must be protected.

In instances where workplace reports or other documents are used as evidence to support an assessment, it is essential that this is done with the full knowledge and support of the employer, and that any identifying details (e.g. person’s name, NHI number, area where they live, unusual conditions/illnesses, family connections) are removed or blacked out before being submitted for marking. Any assessments where such identifying details have not been removed or blacked out will not be accepted, and will be returned to the learner for resubmission.

This reminder will also be shared with learners and workplace assessors.

We will soon share the topline results from the 2022 annual employer survey, together with actions we are committing to as a result of your feedback.

In each of our annual employer surveys, we have consistently asked employers about what they consider to be the most significant barriers to their staff completing their learning programmes. ‘Lack of time’ has consistently been the highest perceived barrier, and by some margin. This mirrors the feedback from our learners when we ask them the same question, with 50% of learners citing lack of time as their greatest barrier to achievement.

In the 2022 survey, we posed the question “To what extent would you support or oppose trainees taking part in learning activities during work hours?” Just 14% of employer respondents were opposed to this idea which is very encouraging. We acknowledge and applaud employers who are making study time available during working hours for their staff, recognising that they are often balancing their study commitments with very busy work and family commitments. Check out how Presbyterian Support Central support their learners with paid study time.

Careerforce is proud to again be sponsoring Social Service Providers Aotearoa’s (SSPA) annual conference, Whakamanawa 2023. This conference brings together all those working across Aotearoa New Zealand's community social services and wider social sector, and will be its first time being back kanohi ki te kanohi – fully in-person for three years.

Whakamanawa 2023
1-2 May
Te Papa, Wellington

For more information, go to: https://www.sspa.org.nz/events/conference/whakamanawa-2023

On 4 March, advisors from the Careerforce Employer Services Northern Team came together to support the learning and development of 16 learners in Hamilton. There were three areas of focus: supporting learners who needed to achieve 10 credits, those nearing completion and others who had requested additional support.

Learners were from various workplaces, settings, roles, and all were at different stages of their programmes ranging from Levels 3 to 5.

Careerforce staff provided an environment where learners felt safe and supported in their pursuit of knowledge, as well as inspired by the experiences of their peers on the same learning journey. The session ended with all learners having successfully completed assessment tasks.

Following the great feedback, we are looking at running more programmes like this, and will share dates as these are confirmed.

Above: Careerforce Apprenticeship Advisor Alyssia Paekau with Learner Sela Ongosia.

In an earlier email we outlined new TEC identity verification requirements that confirms both their identity, and their eligibility for funding. Key changes included that drivers licenses are no longer accepted as a form of identification (as these do not verify eligibility for domestic learner enrolment fees), and employers are no longer able to verify identity (as they were able to in the past).

One omission on our part however was that a National Student Number (NSN) that has already been verified with the National Student Index (NSI) can be used as a verified form of identification. The number must be stated on the Training Agreement and all names and date of birth must match.

For instances where the prospective learner does not have an existing NSN, we will require verified identification, as detailed here.

Please ensure you are accessing the latest version of our training agreement which includes details about the new identification requirements.

In the February issue of Skills for Good, we included an article, 'Getting learner activity back on track'. In it we covered our responsibility to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to ensure that learners are actively progressing towards completing their qualification, and the steps we need to take when learners are not active.

We contacted learners who enrolled prior to 2022 and who have not achieved any credits on their training programme. These learners will be withdrawn if no credits are achieved and registered by 31 March 2023.

We also contacted learners who have achieved less than 30% of their programme credits but who did not achieve any credits across 2022. We advised these learners that they are being placed on hold, and will be withdrawn 3 months later if no further credits are achieved.

Our field team will have been in touch if this affects you, and also to review your 2022 enrolments, and identify learners where intervention may be required. If you have any queries, please don't hesitate to get in touch with your usual Careerforce contact.

Our presence also supports the objectives of the Life Changing Careers campaign to build greater diversity into our care and support workforce, and promote the rewarding and plentiful career pathways available. Careerforce Regional Manager Jillena Paekau commented that “there were lots of celebrations, positive vibes and strong interest among our programmes, plus the added bonus of meeting Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at our stand”. A special acknowledgement to our very own Kailash Devan for leading this initiative.

At the request of the sector, Careerforce has recently added additional elective unit standards to the following programmes:

NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Advanced Care and Support) (Level 4) – trainee programme
US 32506: Advocate for a person in a health or wellbeing setting [Level 4, 5 credits]. This unit will be available on Aka Toi soon.

NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Orderly Services) (Level 3)
US 27315: Describe and implement strategies for de-escalating unwanted behaviour in an aged care, health, or disability context [Level 3, 3 credits].

NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Health Assistance) (Level 3)
US 27465: Contribute to therapeutic programmes and/or groups in a health or wellbeing setting [Level 3, 5 credits].
US 27467: Apply supported communication strategies in a health or wellbeing setting [Level 4, 5 credits].
US 27469: Use specialised assistive and/or therapeutic equipment with people in a health or wellbeing setting [Level 3, 4 credits].

The unit standards for Orderly Services and Health Assistance are available on both the Careerforce Resource Library and on Aka Toi.