Skills for Good - March 2021: Help showcase careers, apprentices tackle world of stigma, support with dyslexia, cultural confidence and more

Kia ora

During the month of May we are running a series of events across Aotearoa for our young people. The events provide a great opportunity for employers to connect with youth and showcase the careers pathway that is possible in the Health, Social and Community sectors. If you wish to take part, we would love to hear from you by emailing schools@careerforce.org.nz.

In this edition we introduce you to Georgina Guild our newest recruit. Georgina looks forward to supporting Apprentices in the Auckland region very soon!

Finally, please remember you can find out all things Careerforce through our Facebook page, LinkedIn and our Website.

Ngā mihi nui

Andrew Saunders
General Manager, Employer Services

Join us in showcasing the amazing careers that young people could experience within the health, social and community sectors.

With support from the Ministry of Education, we are running a series of events across the country over May/June, and are looking for employers to participate by connecting and engaging with young people. If you are interested, please go here for more information and to register your interest in participating, or contact us at schools@careerforce.org.nz.

We all know that we need to attract a younger workforce, and these events represent a great opportunity to showcase the rewarding career pathways we can offer across health and wellbeing, and to profile your organisation and any specific opportunities.

Events are running on the following dates and locations:

The marginalized and isolated community of drug users face stigma and discrimination every day. For many people, the stigma of criminality is a part of everyday life.

New Zealand’s Needle Exchange Programme seeks to support this community by preventing blood borne viruses such as Hepatitis C, and pushing ‘harm reduction’. It allows people anonymity and support from peer support staff who do not pass judgement.

According to Carl Greenwood, General Manager of Drugs Health and Development Project, “We don’t condemn or condone drug abuse. We say it happens, and we just want it to happen as safely as possible.”

Careerforce, has taken on the challenge of supporting workers in this specific sector, via apprenticeships.

“For many years there was a lack of training, because the work we do is so unique,” says Carl. “Fitting what we do into actual course work can be really difficult. Some programmes require that you show how you’ve helped individuals over time, and it’s just not what we do, we don’t work with people at that level. It’s a confidential and anonymous service, and we don’t even know people’s names.”

Careerforce Apprenticeship Advisor, Danny Fearon adds, “This is a unique case of sometimes vulnerable people supporting vulnerable people. With the Needle Exchange Programme, we are taking on a more in-depth role in the learning. We’re working closely with managers and team leaders like Carl to align the Apprenticeship programme to the unique nature of this work. For example, areas such as health and safety, risk management, strategies, systems and processes, all have greater focus within the learning structure.”

Last month, we held a campaign planning hui with care and support workers from our targeted demographics for the campaign - many thanks to those of you who so generously made your staff available to participate. The purpose was to get a deeper understanding of their motivators, and what attracted them to their roles initially. The recurring theme that emerged was that their primary motivations were very much around the intrinsic rewards that their roles provide; that they are making a real difference in people’s lives. This insight will form a key part of the campaign creative development.

A key part of the campaign will be story telling via video, and we are now on the hunt for talent, so don’t be surprised if you get a tap on the shoulder to give us a little help. We are particularly looking for uplifting stories of relationships between care and support workers and the people that they provide care and support for, and where they have made a real difference to someone’s life. We know there are thousands of these stories out there, and please if there are people in your organisation who might fill the bill, drop us a line to marcomms@careerforce.org.nz .

We have also commenced the development of a campaign website that will live well beyond the campaign – this will be the primary campaign call to action, and where people whose interest has been piqued via the campaign can find out much more about care and support roles, and consider their next steps towards a career pathway in health and wellbeing.

We expect the campaign to launch in May.

Georgina has qualifications in child focused systemic practice, mental health and tertiary learning and teaching, and has been a social worker for the past 16 years.

In her last role she was a senior practitioner (social worker) working with young people (aged 10-25) with mental health challenges. This also involved working with parents/carers, schools, and with the young people at the Youth Unit of a Men’s Prison. Georgina will be working with employers to promote apprenticeships and provide support, guidance and assessment for apprentices.

We are excited to share that we are launching a new apprenticeship programme for the aged care sector.

The New Zealand Apprenticeship in Healthcare Assistance for Aged Care (Level 4) Complex with a contexts in Palliative Care, Dementia and Complex Conditions is a 140-credit programme designed to upskill the workforce in the three areas of highest need.

We are expecting to be able to enroll apprentices by mid-April. If you want more information, please get in touch with your Careerforce Workplace Advisor.

This month we highlight Ako Aotearoa’s Resource Pack on supporting adult learners with dyslexia. The pack is designed for adult tutors/trainers working in tertiary institutions or in workplaces.

It includes videos, posters, teaching and learning tools and best practice guides, and takes you from an introduction explaining what dyslexia is, to building a dyslexia-friendly workplace. These resources are free to download here

Ako Aotearoa also provides an online course An introduction to Dyslexia – Supporting learners to achieve their potential. These are 2-hour webinars at $210, available on
April 13th, 20th, and 27th. Register here

In our last issue of Skills for Good, we provided an update on the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE). This detailed the expected establishment of six new Workforce Development Councils by August, including one for Community, Health, Education & Social Services. Due to changes to timeframes for the Orders in Council (required to legally establish WDCs), the expected establishment has been delayed, and now expected for October

You can continue to find the latest updates on RoVE here. If you have any questions at all, please touch base with your regular Careerforce contact.

As part of Careerforce’s commitment to continual improvement, we welcome your feedback. We review comments thoroughly and action them appropriately. When sending through your feedback, to help us direct your comments to the right teams, we encourage you to use our feedback forms.

To give feedback about a qualification, unit standard, programme or other Careerforce product, please complete this form
To give feedback about a learning resource, workbook or assessment, please use this form.

These forms can also be found on the Contact us page of our website.

“When you understand the language, you understand the worldview

- a place where we can all find a sense of connection.

All people want to feel identity, connection, and purpose.

What’s good for Māori is good for everyone.”

The first cohort of health and wellbeing sector leaders came together to lift their cultural confidence in a new programme supported and facilitated by Careerforce. A recent graduation event for the nine participants celebrated their new knowledge and achievements.

The work has been part of an initiative to strengthen bi-cultural confidence across the Careerforce employer network and follows on from an initiative to lift cultural confidence across the Careerforce organisation.

Careerforce Kaiwhakahononga (Māori Engagement & Development Lead), Tūraukawa Bartlett developed and delivered the programme based on his own journey as a former Careerforce Māori apprentice. He explains, “When thinking about how we best support the outcomes of all our trainees and apprentices with an equitable lens, it takes a collective approach. We feel we can better support organisations if they themselves feel confident in seeing through a te ao Māori lens. And to understand a te ao Māori world view, the first step is understanding the language.”

Careerforce developed this cultural confidence programme to build the internal and self-sustaining capability in organisations that will significantly influence how Māori trainees and apprentices achieve.

The 4-week programme consists of two 90-minute sessions per week and focuses on building cultural confidence rather than a goal of ‘cultural competency’.

According to Tūraukawa, the key is having the confidence to learn something new, try it out, be okay with mistakes and most importantly, learn from the experience. No one is perfect and we are all learners; the difference is simply where we are in the journey.

Social and Community Services L4 – NZQA Approved
The NZQA have approved the replacement of the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Social and Community Services) (Level 4) with strands in Community Health Work; Disability Support; Diversional Therapy; Mental Health and Addiction Support; and Whānau, Community and Social Services [Ref:2992-2] and is now listed on the New Zealand Qualification Framework (NZQF).

NZQA page outlining the Qualification
Qualification Overview (nzqa.govt.nz)

Please note the last date for assessment for programmes leading to version 1 of this qualification is 31 December 2023.

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