Skills for Good - September 2025: Save on selected apprenticeships, leader assessing next generation of learners, and more

Tēnā koutou

Whilst our Executive Director Rod Bentham has been away on his long-planned annual leave, I have had the privilege of attending a number of meetings and events over the last month on his behalf, not least of which was attending a graduation ceremony for our Māori and Pacific learners, held in Otautahi Christchurch last week. For me personally, these events serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of the work that we support, and the difference it makes to not only our graduates, but also for their wider whanau who were also in attendance. You can read more about this graduation in the story below.

In last month’s Skills for Good, we introduced the Establishment Advisory Group for the Health & Community Industry Skills Board (ISB), and I recently had the opportunity to provide a brief introduction of Careerforce to this group. As we have previously shared, Careerforce will transition out of Te Pūkenga and into this ISB on 1 January 2026. As a distinct business division within this ISB, everything will continue business as usual, and you won’t notice any change, as was the case with our transition into Te Pūkenga back in 2022.

Careerforce’s future beyond this transition will be for our sectors to determine, and the ISB will play an important role in facilitating this decision. During our discussions with our employers across the motu, a consistent theme is that what you most want is continuity and stability and we continue to have discussions with our funders, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), on how to best deliver on this need.

Finally, check out the uplifting story on Jesika who has completed a number of qualifications with Careerforce, and recently completed her training to become a registered assessor. Our extended workforce of workplace-based assessors are a critical part of what we do, and we applaud Jesika’s commitment to supporting the next wave of learners. She will be an outstanding assessor as she has been on the same training journey, and performed the same roles as those that she will be supporting on their training journeys.

Ngā mihi nui

Denise Williams
Acting Executive Director, Careerforce

Careerforce currently has a De-escalation Skills & Techniques for the Health & Wellbeing Sector (Level 4) micro-credential, and upon completion, graduates are expected to be able to:

Communicate effectively in situations that require de-escalation;
Identify and explain the triggers that can lead to the occurrence of behaviours of concern;
Correctly and confidently apply de-escalation techniques.

However, the scope of this micro-credential is presently limited to the mental health & addiction setting, and since its launch, we have received feedback from employers that there is a need for its scope to be expanded to the broader health and wellbeing setting.

We are presently seeking this scope extension via Toitū te Waiora, the Workforce Development Council for Health & Wellbeing, and are required to provide indications of industry support as part of their approval process.

If you are in agreement that there is a need for this micro-credential within your sector, we kindly request that you complete the survey as per the link following (as soon as possible please, due to application deadlines).

Please note that this is simply an indication of support in principle and does not represent any further commitment from your organisation.

Complete the survey here.

Just an early heads-up that in early November, we will be sending out personalised survey invites for our ninth annual employer survey. Receiving the results for this survey is always a moment of truth for all of us at Careerforce, and the bar has been set high for 2025, following a record satisfaction result for the 2024 survey.

Each year, we spend considerable time poring over the results and your feedback, and over the years the survey has been running, your feedback has directly informed a number of improvements.

As always, and when the survey invites are sent out in early November, we encourage you to share your feedback, both brickbats and bouquets.

Mayoral Graduations have run for a number of years, organised by the Mayoral Taskforce for Jobs (part of Local Government NZ), and celebrate industry training graduates in their respective areas.

Graduates who completed their qualifications between September 2024 and August 2025 can expect to receive an invitation to their local events, from their local council. For any of your staff (or yourselves) that receive an invitation, encourage them to attend and celebrate their achievement with fellow industry training graduates from their area.

Confirmed Mayoral Graduation events are as below (subject to change):

We're pleased to offer 50% off the following apprenticeship enrolments, from 1 October until 30 November 2025, with enrolments priced at just $1,000 (incl. GST)*, a saving of $1,000.

The Apprenticeship in Advanced Care and Support gives staff the skills required to provide person-centred or relationship-centred care and support to people with complex needs. The apprentice can choose from one of seven focus areas.
Find out more >

The Apprenticeship in Diversional Therapy is designed to recognise and enhance the skills of Diversional Therapists, meeting the qualification requirement to be registered with NZSDRT. Find out more >

The Apprenticeship in Mental Health and Addiction Support enables a person-centred approach to supporting recovery, fostering hope and building resilience for service users.
Find out more >

By 2018, she had completed a Level 4 Apprenticeship in Diversional Therapy to support her role at the time, and two years later, she expanded her expertise with a Level 4 qualification in Advanced Care and Support, both through Careerforce.

Not one to stand still, Jesika kept the momentum going, then completed a Diploma in Business (Leadership and Management) Level 5 qualification in 2023, also with Careerforce.

Now as Village Coordinator at Bupa’s Erin Park Retirement Village in Auckland, Jesika is determined to support the next wave of learners. Most recently, she has completed her assessor training with Careerforce, adding another skill to her portfolio and expanding the ways she can support others.

Read more about Jesika's journey >

This year, Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) has been aligned with the nationwide wellbeing campaign Top Up. The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 is Top Up Together, encouraging you to connect with others as you bring the Five Ways to Wellbeing into your daily life. This year, they are shining a light on the collective aspect of the Top Up campaign, as recent research shows that a shared, community-based approach to wellbeing delivers the most sustained, long-term benefits.

Social connection is crucial for our wellbeing. It brings purpose and a sense of belonging to our lives, helps us feel valued, and makes us happier and more secure. Evidence shows that activities involving social interaction matter - actions like volunteering, shared learning, physical activity, cultural practices, and community events consistently have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.
Learn more about MHAW and get involved >

Each year, Careerforce supports many learners across the mental health and addiction support sector to complete their training programmes. Programmes range from Micro-credentials, short course programmes, Level 3 certificates and Level 4 apprenticeships through to Level 5 diplomas.

Those of you in the mental health and addiction support sector may have support workers, peer support workers or others working with and for people with mental health and addiction issues. In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Week, we'd like to take this opportunity to recognise all of you and your staff and the amazing work that you all do. Thank you!

Outside of work, TDX Napier Service Manager, Shona Jones thrives on the challenge of triathlons, chasing medals and testing her limits. So, when the opportunity arose to complete a Diploma in Business (Leadership and Management) Level 5, she saw it as another exciting race, another medal to claim.
And now after just 11 months, she has successfully crossed that finish line, with support from Careerforce.

Traditionally known for supporting on-the-job learning across the health and wellbeing sector, Careerforce’s leadership programme is now proving just as valuable in the automotive and logistics industries.

Shona leads a team of technicians in the male dominated heavy equipment industry and supervises functions within the service department such as bookings, and the allocation and invoicing of workshop jobs.

“Managing a team of men can be entertaining,” says Shona, “It’s definitely interesting. We are like a family, they have become ‘my boys’. They are an amazing team.”

At first, when stepping into the Service Manager role, Shona says she felt out of place. “I definitely felt I wasn’t the right person at the start as I didn’t have a technical background,” says Shona. “Over time I’ve enjoyed learning more about the technical aspects of what goes into managing a high performing aftersales team.”

TDX offered to give Shona some leadership and management training. Then, when fellow industry training provider, MITO, promoted the Careerforce business programme through their motor trade networks, Shona jumped at the opportunity.

Read about Shona's Journey >

Careerforce is an official supporter of Thank Your Cleaner Day, and we encourage you to show your appreciation to your cleaners. We’ll be doing a shout-out to our cleaners across our offices, and you may wish to do likewise. Here are some ideas:

Take a few minutes to stop and acknowledge your cleaner – a simple smile or ‘Thank You’ will be greatly appreciated!
Leave a ‘Thank You’ card signed by your staff or organise staff to bring in a morning tea to share with your cleaner.
Present your cleaner with a gift such as flowers or a box of chocolates.
Leave a Thank You note on your desk or do a shout-out if you’re still in the office when they come through.

For more ideas to inspire you, visit our web page and download the flyer >