Training for Good - September 2025: Career path to leadership, the wellbeing support team, and more

From Support Worker to Service Manager, Tegan Coote is now pursuing a leadership qualification to make an even bigger impact. Driven by personal mental health challenges and a passion for helping others, Tegan began her mental health support career in 2015 with PACT in Invercargill, where she later completed an apprenticeship with Careerforce.

Now, she is seven months into her Level 5 Diploma in Business (Leadership and Management) qualification, also supported by Careerforce.

During her apprenticeship, Tegan worked one-on-one with young people recovering from, or affected by mental illness for the Southland branch of PACT. The organisation provides support for people recovering from mental illness or with intellectual disabilities.

Tegan was keen to learn more about herself as a leader. “A colleague mentioned that she had found parts of the Diploma really beneficial for her role,” says Tegan. “My manager also mentioned it to me and I really like the style of Careerforce learning. It’s based on what you do and then applying what you do and how you work.”

The Diploma is a 20-month part-time work-based learning programme designed for leaders and managers who are seeking to expand their leadership and management toolkit within their own work-based context. A leadership and management coach is provided for the duration of the programme.

Contact us for more information about completing the Leadership and Management Diploma or Health and Wellbeing Apprenticeships via work-based learning.

Read more about Tegan and her journey >

iportal is Careerforce’s online portal where learners can access their profile and training progress reports, and assessors can manage their trainees, submit results and access the latest Assessor Guides within their scope. Employers can also use iportal to download reports and track their trainees’ progress.
https://iportal.careerforce.org.nz

As a Careerforce learner, you may be completing your Careerforce programme via either paper-based learning or Aka Toi online learning. Iportal is designed for learners using paper-based learning.

As a learner, we encourage you to register for, and then regularly access iportal, as it allows you to access your personal profile, employer details, assessor details and review your ongoing training progress. You can also view and download our paper-based learning and assessment materials from the resources library.

For more information, you can download the iportal user guide for learners.
More information for learners >

Download iportal user guide for learners >

To be communicated to clearly
Your assessor, employer and Careerforce have a responsibility to communicate with you as you go along your training journey. You’ll receive quarterly emails from Careerforce to help you track your progress.

To be informed
You have a right to be informed of all types of support available to you, including your training progress, and your assessment results.

To be provided with resources
Careerforce provides learning and assessment resources. Your employer is encouraged to supplement your learning with workplace materials, e.g. policies and procedures, and health and safety manuals.

To be assessed fairly
If you are not satisfied with an assessment result, speak to your assessor. You are also welcome to contact Careerforce for support.

To be awarded a certificate
After completing all your assessments, you will be sent a formal certificate from Careerforce that recognises your achievement.

As a learner, you have these responsibilities:

To be organised
Manage your work and training commitments as best as you can and complete within the timeframe agreed between yourself, your assessor and employer.

To be engaged
Let Careerforce and your employer know if you need additional support or have any questions or concerns which could prevent you from finishing in the agreed timeframe.

To be committed
Keep us informed if you no longer wish to continue with your training, would like to ‘pause your training’, or decide to leave your workplace and would like to talk about other options on how to continue your training programme.

Kia ora koutou
We’re Danny Fearon and Avril Hunt, your Wellbeing Advisors at Careerforce. Our 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 your learning.

We know wellbeing means different things to different people. Challenges might include stress, health issues, whānau challenges, bullying, or grief. Sometimes it just helps to talk with someone in a safe, confidential space.
We’re here to listen and support you, and to help you find practical ways forward. 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/

Academic integrity means being honest in your studies. It’s about making sure everyone has a fair and respectful learning environment. This includes doing your own work, giving credit to others when you use their ideas, and following the rules when completing assessments. Being honest in your work helps protect the value of your qualification and supports success for everyone.

To support this, we’re introducing a new software tool (Copyleaks) that helps us identify any potential issues with assessments. This tool is built into our online learning platform, Aka Toi, and will assist us in detecting things like plagiarism or work that may not be the learners own work.

For those of you who are completing your programme via our online learning programme Aka Toi, you will be asked to confirm that you understand and agree to this when submitting assessments. From 1 September, when you go to submit your next assessment, you will see this tick box:

For most learners, this won’t change anything. If you’ve done your own work, there’s nothing to be concerned about. This is simply one of the steps we’re taking to continue upholding the integrity of qualifications that we award. If anything concerning is found, your assessor will discuss this with you. You’ll be supported through the process and given a fair chance to respond.

If you have any questions about academic integrity or what this means for you, please refer to this page on our website here. We’ve also developed a list of
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Copyleaks, which you can view here.

If you’re ever unsure about what’s expected, or how to reference something, it’s always best to reach out to your assessor.

Graduates of the Level 3 Health Assistance programme may wish to consider

The Advanced Care and Support Apprenticeship
The Apprenticeship in Diversional Therapy

Graduates of the Level 3 Support Work and Support Work - Disability programmes may also wish to consider

The Apprenticeship in Whānau, Community and Social Services (We're offering 50% off enrolments in this programme until 31 October 2025) Find out more
The Apprenticeship in Peer Support (free enrolment for eligible learners to June 2026)

Graduates of the Level 3 in Youth Work may wish to consider

The Apprenticeship in Youth Work (We're offering 50% off enrolments in this programme until 30 September 2025) Find out more