Skills for Good - June 2025: Support with apprenticeship costs, reaching remote workers and more

Tēnā koutou

A special welcome to a large group of registered workplace-based assessors who have been added to our regular Skills for Good newsletter audience. I simply can’t emphasise enough the importance of what you do, and the critical role you play in supporting learner success. While you will continue to receive your regular assessor newsletter, we trust and hope that the content in this newsletter will be equally valuable to supporting your role as an assessor.

Over the last few weeks, my primary focus has been on meeting with a number of our peak bodies and also with a number of our employers across the motu, to provide an update on the redesign of vocational education and key next steps. The key message, and as has been the case throughout the reform journey of the last 6 years to date, is very much one of ‘business as usual’. It has been very reassuring to receive the messages of support and appreciation for what we do, and also the very clear message for continuity and stability. I can assure you that these messages are being shared with the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) as they continue their deliberations into the final shape of vocational education for Aotearoa.

Ngā mihi nui

Rod Bentham
Executive Director, Careerforce

As mentioned in the Executive Director update, a key focus for Careerforce over the last month has been providing our stakeholders with an update on where things are at with the Redesign of Vocational Education (RoVE). What we do know is that as a result of the impending disestablishment of Te Pūkenga, Careerforce will transition as a separate business division into a newly established Industry Skills Board (ISB) on 1 January 2026. The exact number of these ISBs and their respective coverage areas is expected to be announced shortly.

What we also know is that this is intended as a temporary home for Careerforce, whilst you (as industry), decide what you want the future provision of work-based training to look like. In due course, and likely in collaboration with the TEC, we will be back in touch to explain what the various options could look like, and seek your feedback on preferences. This will inform future transitions out of the ISB.

In the meantime, everything remains business as usual, and we make an absolute assurance that any learners who enrol with us, will be able to complete their learning journey, and be awarded their qualification. We have clearly heard your desire for continuity and stability, and our aim is to work through all transitions with minimum if any disruption, just as it was with our transition into Te Pūkenga back in 2022.

Most learning and assessment is done online via the Careerforce learning platform, but Cath and Steve saw the need for extra face-to-face support.
"We started running one to two-day wananga across the West Coast, to get learners more actively engaged and help them progress through their programme modules," says Cath.

“It’s been brilliant,” Cath says. “Most of the learners attending are doing apprenticeships, so that’s our focus. We’ve had strong support from employers too, some even offer their premises as venues.”

Disability Support Apprentice, Margareta Lestari, a PACT support worker for people with intellectual disabilities, came to New Zealand from Indonesia 12 years ago. She says the group learning sessions have made a big difference in her apprenticeship journey.

“I enjoy them because the atmosphere is relaxed, which is especially important for me as English isn’t my first language. It makes it easier to take in all the information, especially since we cover a lot in one day,” says Margareta.

We're pleased to offer 50% off Primary Care Practice Assistance apprenticeship enrolments until 31 August 2025. Enrolments are now priced at just $1,000 (incl. GST)*, a saving of $1,000.

The Primary Care Practice Assistance apprenticeship is a 20-month work-based programme designed to support the staff member to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours required to contribute to the effective operation of a primary care practice. More information about the programme is available here

According to our most recent employer survey, insufficient funding/resources was the most significant challenge facing our employer training needs over the next 12 months.

To help ease the burden of training costs across the disability sector, we're offering 50% off Disability Support and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Support apprenticeship enrolments until 31 July 2025. Enrolments are now priced at just $1,000 (incl. GST)*, a saving of $1,000.

Eligible programmes:
NZ Apprenticeship in Disability Support >
NZ Apprenticeship in Brain Injury Rehabilitation Support >

We're offering 50% off full-service enrolments* until 31 July 2025.

Enrol your cleaners in a full-service programme now for just $345 (incl. GST) - down from $690 for Level 2 Cleaning programme, or $425 (incl. GST) - down from $850 for a Level 3 Cleaning programme until 31 July 2025.

Eligible Programmes:
NZ Level 2 Certificate in Cleaning
NZ Level 3 Certificate in Cleaning
NZ Level 3 Certificate in Cleaning Supervision Strand
NZ Level 3 Certificate in Cleaning Specialist Strand

*With full service enrolments learners are assigned an assessor by Careerforce, who provides full assessment services to the trainee for the duration of the training programme (marking assessments, providing feedback, and registering assessment results).

Earlier this year, Careerforce's Northern employer services team had the privilege of hosting Josiah Ploeg from Brain Injury Waikato for an engaging and thought-provoking presentation. His session provided invaluable insights into brain injury, deepening the team's understanding of the structure and function of the brain, common symptoms, key definitions, and the incidence rate of brain injuries within the Waikato region.

One of the key highlights of the presentation was the exploration of evidence-based strategies to support recovery and wellbeing for individuals affected by brain injuries. Josiah’s expertise and ability to translate complex neurological concepts into practical, real-world knowledge left a lasting impact on our team.

His powerful storytelling and compelling messages resonated deeply, shedding light on the realities of brain injuries and the importance of education, awareness, and appropriate support systems. The discussion not only increased knowledge but also reinforced the significance of ongoing advocacy and support for individuals navigating the challenges of brain injury.

We have been hearing the occasional story about some learners enrolling with alternative training providers, sometimes paying exorbitant international enrolment fees, and typically under a non-workplace-based training mode. In a number of these instances, it appears that this same person was on an accredited employer work visa (AEWV), and would have been eligible for substantially cheaper domestic enrolment fees with Careerforce under workplace-based training. If you have any questions around eligibility of your staff for domestic enrolment fees for Careerforce training programmes, please contact us.

We have also been hearing stories of learners directly enrolling with alternate providers on the understanding that they offered shorter duration programmes. While all Careerforce training programmes have expected training durations based on their credit value, it is important to recognise that a core strength of work-based learning is that it is competency based. The sooner a learner can demonstrate the required competencies to the expected standard, in the workplace, the sooner they can achieve their qualification. As they are assessed in the workplace, you also have the confidence of knowing that the Careerforce awarding of a qualification reflects genuine workplace competence, and that they have been subject to very strict assessment and moderation controls, including around the use of AI. As a recruitment consideration, you can also have the confidence that Careerforce qualified graduates are truly work-ready, having achieved their qualification ‘on the tools’, and not just online or in a classroom.

More about Domestic v International enrolments >

Pacific graduates recently came together in Auckland for Careerforce’s Pacific Celebration of Success – a special event recognising the achievements of 50 Pacific learners who had recently completed their NZQA qualifications.

Hosted by Careerforce, the evening celebrated graduates from across the Northern region, who had completed programmes ranging from Level 2 certificates through to Level 5 diplomas. Graduates represented Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Fiji, the Cook Islands and Tokelau.

Careerforce Executive Director, Rod Bentham, commended the graduates for working tirelessly, showing resilience, and demonstrating an unwavering commitment to their education and training.

To support the success of all Level 4 Dementia Care learners, our national dementia training facilitators, Bee Williamson, Joel Ali and Jo Rea are providing a series of online sessions from July through to October.

These sessions are designed to reinforce your learners’ understanding and help them confidently complete their assessments. Each session focuses on one specific assessment task, allowing learners to attend only the sessions related to the modules they need help with.

We have scheduled both morning and evening options to accommodate varying shift patterns. Invitations will soon be sent directly to learners enrolled in dementia care. Please encourage your staff to join the sessions covering modules they need extra help in.

If your organisation has several learners and you’re interested in an in-person workshop, please contact us at dementiasupport@careerforce.org.nz to discuss further.

Visit our website for more information

Noho marae ignites apprentice’s passion to learn

A reluctant two-day stay at a noho marae was the trigger Nicole Thoms needed to reignite her studies, reconnect with her Māori roots, and excel in her role.

Nicole is a diversional therapist at Christchurch’s Rosecourt rest home and is completing an Apprenticeship in Diversional Therapy with Careerforce.

Read about how Nicole's noho marae experience was transformative in both her studies and her mahi >>

Do you have learners struggling with their learning due to physical or mental health concerns or stress?

We’re committed to promoting a healthy learning environment where Careerforce enrolled learners can talk to someone confidentially about their wellbeing when they need to.

These learners can complete the referral form on our website to connect with a Careerforce Wellbeing Advisor.

Support is available via phone, text, email, Teams, or in-person (location dependent).

Learners can visit our website and complete the online form:

Last month we advised you that the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) has implemented updates to training agreement information requirements.

Careerforce accordingly reviewed and revised our training agreement enrolment forms to ensure full alignment with these changes. We also took the opportunity to make further improvements, to help ease completion of these forms.

As always, it is essential that you use the most up to date versions of training agreements. Old versions of Training Agreements can no longer be accepted. Training agreements are accessed from the forms page on the Careerforce website.