Apprenticeship Journey - November 2025: Persistence pays off, Christmas Food Bag, and more

At 62, Sue Moxom is nearing the completion of her Diversional Therapy Apprenticeship through Careerforce, after two previous attempts. Working at Metlifecare’s The Orchards in Auckland, she credits her success to strong support from her Careerforce Advisor, helpful Study Hubs, and connecting with other learners.

Inspired by a TV show, Sue introduced an intergenerational programme with local school children, which has brought joy and purpose to residents. She’s gained confidence and hopes to support other diversional therapists in future.

Fees Free tertiary education and training was a policy introduced in 2018 to expand participation in tertiary education, and was based on a first-year Fees Free policy. Effective from 1 January 2025, this changed to a final-year Fees Free policy.

It is possible that you could be eligible for first-year Fees Free, based on your training over 2024, and it is important that you are aware that this only remains available until 31 December 2025. Go to www.feesfree.govt.nz to determine your eligibility, and if you believe you are eligible, you need to submit a completed statutory declaration form before 31 December 2025.

For more information about the transition from first-year Fees Free or the final-year Fees Free policy, visit ird.govt.nz/fees-free.

Simply answer three questions by 30 November 2025 to go in the draw to win a Classic Christmas Food Bag (or vegetarian version) valued at $280.

It's a Christmas spread inspired by Nadia’s Farm Kitchen for 4-6+ people including a starter, two proteins, four sides and dessert. This Christmas menu features premium local ingredients to create fresh, seasonal recipes inspired by Nadia and the produce on her farm. Includes a 2kg free-range ham and butterflied leg of lamb, perfect for a smaller group.

Find a study group or a workmate to be your study buddy. Studying with someone can be motivating.
Stick to your target assessment and completion dates as best as you can. Pace yourself.
Make time to study each week to keep that momentum.
Celebrate the small wins and the big wins. When you complete, celebrate again!
Remember this is on-the-job learning and is about what you do in your role every day. Assessments will just need to confirm what you already know and can do. You’ve got this!

Are you a Māori learner? - Our Rōpū Taupuhipuhi Āmio / National Mobile Support team provides options for kanohi-ki-te-kanohi (face-to-face) kaupapa Māori approach support through wānanga mahi and noho marae. Check out the current 2025 schedule on our website.

Are you a Pacific learner? - Our Pacific team understands Pacific learners' needs and are here to help them. The team runs Talanoa (study support sessions), and face-to-face and online Fono (workshops). Check out the current 2025 schedule of Talanoa.

Click on the image to the left to hear Danny Fearon and Avril Hunt introduce themselves.

As your Wellbeing Advisors at Careerforce, their role is to walk alongside learners who may be finding things tough, whether that’s with study, work, or life outside of learning that might be impacting their learning.

Support is flexible: by phone, text, email, Microsoft Teams, or face to face (depending on location).

Complete a self-referral form here or email us with any questions at wellbeingsupport@careerforce.org.nz

(*Excluding Gateway learners)

You can also access free confidential counselling through Vitae, a professional employee assistance provider, available 24/7 https://vitae.co.nz/Te-Pukenga-wbl/

Have you considered what you'd like to do when you finish your current apprenticeship programme? Are you keen to broaden your knowledge via further work-based learning programmes? It's never too early to think about what to study next.

For those of you coming to the end of your Level 4 Apprenticeship, this is a good time to consider if a Level 5 Diploma is the next step for you.

The Level 5 Diplomas we offer are:

The Diploma in Business (Leadership and Management) Level 5 >>More
The Diploma in Health and Wellbeing (Applied Practice) Level 5, offered in 14 different specialisations/contexts:>>More

Contact your Apprenticeship Advisor if you'd like to chat about what to do next.

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 >

A team of researchers at AUT and University of Auckland are undertaking research to understand how support workers in community settings experience workplace violence. The research involves a one-off interview, and is open to participants nationwide. The research is led by Professor Katherine Ravenswood.
If you are:

a support worker
work in home/community support, disability support, mental health & addiction support at some point in the last 5 years
have witnessed or experienced workplace violence

Then they would like to hear from you. Contact emma.hitchcock@aut.ac.nz