Skills for Good - September 2022: Careerforce joins Te Pūkenga, Leadership change, Māori learner success...

Kia ora

On 1 September, I assumed the reins at Careerforce, coinciding with our first day as a business division within Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning Limited. Many of you will have had interactions with Jane Wenman who recently left Careerforce after a four year tenure as Chief Executive, and I would like to acknowledge the huge contribution that Jane made to Careerforce over this time. She superbly led Careerforce through the turmoil of Covid-19, and as we navigated the implementation of the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE) over the last 4 years, and can reflect with pride at what Careerforce achieved over her tenure.

Over September, Te Pūkenga completed its consultation with kaimahi (staff) on its proposed high level operating structure. Over 3,000 submissions were made, and outcomes are expected to be announced over October. While these outcomes may have eventual implications for Careerforce staff reporting lines, they won’t have any immediate impacts upon our training relationships with you. I do consider it a privilege to be Director of the Careerforce division within Te Pūkenga, and am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for our Careerforce kaimahi (staff), but especially for our employers and learners through Te Pūkenga’s nationally integrated provision of on-job, on-campus, and online learning.

There is certainly a lot going on at Careerforce at present, and this is reflected in the content of this newsletter. Enjoy.

Ngā mihi nui

Rob Bentham
Director - Careerforce

As Careerforce transitioned into Te Pūkenga as a business division of its Work Based Learning (WBL) subsidiary, Jane Wenman announced that she would be finishing her tenure as Chief Executive of Careerforce.
Reflecting on her tenure, Jane commented that “it has been an absolute privilege to lead Careerforce through the last 4 years, albeit having to navigate the turmoil created by the Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE) and then Covid-19. My six years with Careerforce have been a career highlight.”

Rod Bentham assumed the role of Director of the Careerforce business division of WBL, effective from 1 September.

Rod was formerly Careerforce’s General Manager of Learning Solutions, and has been with Careerforce since May 2018. He has nearly 25 years experience in vocational education and training, including tenures across both polytechnic and industry training organisations, and ten years leading national qualifications services at NZQA.

Rod commented “it is a real honour to be given this opportunity to lead Careerforce. It’s also exciting to see the importance being placed on work based learning within Te Pūkenga, and the recognition of learner scale that the transitioned ITOs bring to Te Pūkenga. As we enter the next stage of our transition as part of the Work Based Learning subsidiary, my focus will be on harnessing the collective experience and passion of the Careerforce whānau. As an organisation, ensuring that the outcomes of our employers and learners will continue to be our top priority.”

This key milestone was celebrated on 5 September with a pōwhiri ceremony at Pipitea Marae in Wellington, attended by over 130 Careerforce and Te Pūkenga staff.

Careerforce Director Rod Bentham says “it was great to be able to celebrate the transition today with our new Te Pūkenga whānau. Three and a half years have elapsed since RoVE was first announced, and today represents a key milestone for our organisation. We are excited about the future opportunities afforded to our employers and learners as part of a national integrated network of on-job, on-campus and online learning. I am excited in equal part for our Careerforce staff, as their combined skills and experience will be critical to the success of Te Pūkenga, and realising the ambitions of RoVE to ramp up the levels of work-based learning”

Toby Beaglehole, Chief Executive of Te Pūkenga Work-Based Learning commented, “As with those that have come before Careerforce, we’ve taken a ‘lift and shift’ approach, so their ākonga (learners) and kaimahi (people) will see very little change in these early days. Our main priority right now is ensuring Careerforce is appropriately welcomed and excited about the future ahead as we seek to improve outcomes for learners, employers and industries.”

Sarah is based in beautiful coastal Ōtepoti, Dunedin and has been a Careerforce Apprenticeship Advisor for 5.5 years. She has recently moved into the role of joint Regional Manager of the Southern Employer Services team covering South Canterbury, Otago, Central Otago, and Southland.

Sarah has a strong passion for the health and wellbeing sector and the amazing mahi and dedication of kaimahi working in our communities. She encourages people to acknowledge and celebrate the ripple effects of education and is passionate about walking alongside people and holding their goals with them.

The road to graduation has not been smooth for 68-year-old Alice Adair. But, after four and a half years, the adult mental health worker at Te Piki Oranga can celebrate her hard-earned success.

Alice shows it’s never too late to chase your dreams, having successfully completed an apprenticeship in Mental Health through Careerforce.

“I enrolled in the apprenticeship programme because I am passionate about the mental health sector and want to see a shift for the better. I was also keen to validate and maximise the skills and life experience I already have,” says Alice.

Alora Hill was once a troubled teenager who didn’t do very well at school.

Today, the teacher aide at Waitaki Girls’ High School is helping young people, struggling as she once did, to shine.

“It all stems from how I was as a teenager. If I had a teacher aide working alongside me who understood my behaviours were due to many outside factors and supported me, then I probably could have done a lot better at school. I want to be able to give students the opportunities that I didn’t have. Schools are changing in the support we can offer, and I want to be a part of that positive change,” says Alora.

Graduates will be able to:

Explain suicide and suicidal ideation in an Aotearoa New Zealand context.
Recognise causes of suicide and the prevalence.
Identify and explain the roles of natural, local and national supports.
Follow procedures used in a local suicide prevention strategy.
Identify and explain response types and approaches for a person experiencing suicidal ideation.
Describe postvention roles and supporting the bereaved.
Explain their own legal obligations and role boundaries.
Appreciate the impacts of suicide on themselves and other support workers, and approaches to self-care.

More information, including a brochure, can be found on our website

Health Assistance and Support Work strands

The last date of assessment for the following two programmes has changed to 31 December 2023.

The NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3) Health Assistance; and
The NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3) Support Work.

The original closure date of the VERSION 1 of the programme was 31 December 2022. Toitu Te Waiora (the Workforce Development Council for Health and Social Services Sector) has subsequently changed the last date of assessment/closure date to 31 December 2023.

This change allows trainees still enrolled in VERSION 1 additional time to complete their programmes. All trainees that haven’t completed their programme by 31 December 2023 will automatically be rolled over into VERSION 2. More information about these updates

Dental Assistance, Orderly Services and Newborn Hearing Screening Strands

New versions of the specific Health & Wellbeing (Level 3) programmes are being released on the following dates:

The NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3) – Dental Assistance
Thursday 26 January 2023
(last date of enrolment in Version 1: 20 January 2023)
The NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3) – Orderly Services
Thursday 9 February 2023
(last date of enrolment in Version 1: 3 February 2023)
The NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing (Level 3) – Newborn Hearing Screening
Monday 20 February 2023
(last date of enrolment in Version 1: 17 February 2023)

The last date of assessment results to be entered for VERSION 1 of these three programmes is 31 December 2023. We recommend that trainees complete their programme assessments by mid-November 2023 to allow time for marking and results to be entered.
More information about these updates

MHAW is run annually by the Mental Health Foundation and has been since 1993. It is endorsed by the World Federation for Mental Health and is marked in over 150 countries at different times of the year.

This year's theme is Reconnect - with the people and places that lift you up, hei pikinga waiora.

The past couple of years have been tough and it's easy to feel disconnected from the people and places that are important to us.

Whether it's reaching out to someone you have lost contact with, visiting a place that's special to you or getting outside in nature, we hope you'll join us this MHAW to reconnect with the people and places that lift you up to enhance your wellbeing - hei pikinga waiora.

To help you activate the theme for yourself, your whānau, workplace or community, check out the MHAW 2022 Guide for daily activity ideas.

Mā te whakarongo, ka mōhio
through listening, comes knowledge
Mā te mōhio, ka mārama,
through knowledge, comes understanding
Mā te mārama, ka matau,
through understanding, comes wisdom
Mā te matau, ka ora
through wisdom, comes wellbeing