Skills for Good - June 2024: Business graduate success, free mental health support for learners and more

This Friday, many of us will celebrate Matariki as an official public holiday, but it is important to also acknowledge your organisations and staff who continue to do all the important mahi, regardless of the day of the year.

In our last issue, we touched on the issue of academic misconduct amongst learners, including plagiarism and the use of generative AI. We encourage you to have honest and constructive discussions with your staff/learners about this, as ultimately, it is not doing your organisation, themselves, or the people they provide care and support for any favours. They just need to have the confidence to put their assessments into their own words and back themselves;

if they are effective in their roles, then they know this stuff!

We feature the opening of the next round of applications for our Manaaki Fund – if you have staff who are enrolled with us, and who are experiencing any form of financial hardship, please make them aware of this fund and encourage them to put in an application. As we review the applications, it has been distressing to hear stories of their various financial circumstances, but in equal part, very heartening to hear their gratitude when receiving these funds.

Ngā mihi nui

Rod Bentham
Executive Director, Careerforce

Social Services Team leader, Peter Tupou is inspired by seeing lives change. The Auckland based Tongan encourages vulnerable Pasifika families to navigate positive outcomes.

Recently completing his Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management, with support from Careerforce, Peter’s graduation was recognised at a Pacific Celebration of Success event in Manukau’s MIT Theatre.

The Diploma gave Peter new business and management skills that helped him continue to follow his passion. He secured a new leadership role with Fonua Ola, a social services provider, that supports Pasifika families to be safe and well.

Manurewa Claimant Support Specialist, Tomasi Fale works in the Ministry of Social Development’s (MSD) Historic Claims Department, supporting people who have suffered abuse or neglect in state care. “I help people face the challenges that happened in their life, so they are able to move on with their life journey,” says Tomasi.

Thanks to a leadership programme from Careerforce, and the support and encouragement from MSD, Tomasi has honed his management skills in the Claims Department by completing his New Zealand Diploma in Business (Level 5) Leadership and Management.

This success comes after Tomasi earlier completed an Apprenticeship in Mental Health and Addiction Support, also with Careerforce.

Do you have a Careerforce learner who is going through a tough time and may need support?

We’d like to help! We’re committed to promoting a healthy learning environment where Careerforce enrolled learners can talk to someone confidentially about their mental health when they need to.

Recent research conducted within Te Pūkenga’s work-based learning division revealed that 30% of participants reported dealing with mental health issues (S. Bartlett, 2023).

Careerforce is extending support to those enrolled in a Careerforce programme* through a short-term pilot programme. Our Mental Health Advisors are available to provide assistance to individuals on their learning journey.

Our objective is to foster a positive and supportive learning environment where all Careerforce programme participants feel comfortable seeking confidential support for their mental health and wellbeing.

Support is available via phone, text, email, Microsoft Teams, or in-person depending on location.

To take the first step, your learners should visit our webpage and complete the referral form. If you're completing the form on your learner's behalf, please ensure you have their consent.

This pilot is generously funded by Te Whatu Ora until 20 December 2024
*This pilot excludes Gateway learners

On 30 May 2024, the Government announced changes to Apprenticeship Boost as part of its 2024 Budget.

Apprenticeship Boost will continue until 30 June 2028.

There have been changes to eligibility. From 1 January 2025, Apprenticeship Boost will provide a $500 (exclusive of GST) per month subsidy to employers of eligible first-year apprentices only.

The key occupations targeted will be communicated when they are finalised. We look forward to more detail about the industries being included.

Te Pou's Disability Training Grant is open to Disability Support Service (DSS) providers, Disabled Persons’ Organisation (DPO) members and individuals who receive Individualised Funding (IF).

The grant can be used for training fees, related resources (e.g. workbooks, tutors/facilitators) and wages of the course participant, if training occurs outside of their regular working hours, or back-filling for the participant if required.

Participants/individuals can be funded up to $6,000 (including GST) per calendar year, depending on the qualification level and number of credits.

For more information, please contact Te Pou directly via grants@tepou.co.nz.

Former Black Ferns Sevens and Blues rugby union player Niall Williams represented New Zealand at an international level, at the 2016 Rio Olympics and winning a gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth games.

In her heart she says she would like to be a professional athlete her whole life, but she knows that’s just not possible and will have to retire one day. Knowing she would have to retire eventually, Niall looked into the opportunities, and the Youth Work Apprenticeship came up through The New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA).

“I’ve always had a massive passion for working with youth and I never thought that my passion and that mix of sports and what I do naturally everyday with kids could actually be put into a certificate and getting a Level 4,” says Niall.

"What’s really great is having people like Jo [Gresley] who come out and help you one-on-one. For me, it was great when I didn’t quite understand the assessment questions and she was able to sit down with me and talk me through it to give me get a better understanding.

“I love that it’s so adaptable to your situation. Being a pro athlete, having a family, I was able to log in during times that I wanted to get on and get the work done.

“When you leave sports and look at the next part in your career, you probably already have all the skills and everything necessary to do the job. But it’s also about getting the paperwork behind your name."

Do your learners need some extra support with their training programmes? Our Achieve Study Hubs are face-to-face sessions where they can drop in, ask questions, meet with other learners, and receive help with their learning.

Our Achieve Study Hubs are scheduled across the country. Learners are also welcome to attend sessions outside their area. See the full schedule on our website. We have contacted learners about these sessions and they can RSVP by completing the online form on our website.

Please encourage your staff to attend these Study Hubs. We know that learners who have attended these events have found them very beneficial.

All apprentices will now have transferred to version 2 of their programme. Apprentices will notice some changes to their programmes, including at least one additional module. View the details of these programme changes. Careerforce Apprenticeship Advisors are available to support apprentices with the changes to their programmes. If you have any questions, please contact your apprentice’s Careerforce Apprenticeship Advisor or contact your Careerforce Workplace Advisor.

In our last issue of Skills for Good we covered academic misconduct among learners. We have now created a summary/guide for learners covering:

Consequences of academic misconduct
How to avoid it by using your own words
Not using AI for assessments
Observers need to see learners completing practical tasks
How we can support learners

Over the coming months we'll continue to share this information with learners, and will be reviewing our processes around this subject. We'll provide guidance for your workplace assessors to support them if they suspect a learner of academic misconduct. 'Read more' for an overview.

Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations have been increasing in recent weeks, prompting officials to say we may be experiencing another wave of the virus. Source Stuff June 2024.

It’s a timely reminder to check out these useful learning resources that provide reminders about hand hygiene, infection prevention and deep cleaning. These will help to heighten your awareness about things you can do to be safer. Good hand hygiene and effective infection control are regarded as essential to preventing the spread of COVID-19. The Deep Cleaning resource is great for small business/community hubs etc. that don’t use commercial cleaners.

Click on the image above or 'read more' to access the modules.

We are required to report to NZQA to ensure our programmes are consistent with the requirements of the qualification. This consistency review process will continue over the coming months, as we work our way through various programmes.

Thank you to those who have already provided feedback. This is so valuable in
helping us improve our training programmes and ensure they remain relevant to your workplace needs.

We'll be in contact with more employers over the next few months and encourage you to give us your feedback if you can.