An appreciation of the challenge of fitting training in with fulltime work was one of the biggest learnings Toby Beaglehole took from his New Zealand Certificate in Workplace Health and Safety Level 3.
The Chief Executive of Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning Limited (WBL) started the on-job training programme back in 2019, when he headed up Connexis.
He wanted to walk in the shoes of the infrastructure on-job learners that Connexis serves, and gain first-hand experience of the programmes and support the industry training business offers. As a board member of Construction Health and Safety New Zealand (CHASNZ), and the Business Leaders’ Health & Safety Forum, Toby will also be able to use this knowledge in his own career.
Since starting the programme, Toby has had other demands on his time, first moving to the Chief Executive role at BCITO (which specialises in industry training for building and construction), and then taking up the reins at WBL in October.
He did manage to put in the mahi though, and completed his certificate this year.
“This is the first tertiary study I’ve undertaken since my university days. It was nice going back to that and it was certainly tough making the time. It makes you realise how challenging the work/ training juggle can be.
“My Connexis Customer Service Account Manager, Karewa Arthur, did a great job of encouraging me to keep on track and I got plenty of grief from the Connexis team whenever I did let my progress slip. It was wonderful to finally get it under my belt. I was also grateful to Darryl and Dean from BCITO who literally went the extra mile, showing up on a Saturday to help me complete the final assessment on manual handling.”
Connexis Director Kaarin Gaukrodger was pleased to see Toby pick up his Connexis certificate. Having worked alongside him when he first started the training programme, she could appreciate the commitment it took.
“It hightlighted to us the importance for on-job learners of having a team of people to encourage and support them to complete their training programme.
“Infrastructure workers have an understanding of learning as a lifelong journey. I think that’s an attitude we could all benefit from and congratulations to Toby for walking the talk on the benfits of industry training and giving it a go.”
The NZ Certificate in Workplace Health and Safety is an important qualification, applicable across all of the infrastructure industries of Civil, Energy, Telecommunications and Water. It can be tailored to suit the specific working environment of the learner and provides the essential foundational knowledge of safety standards and best practice.
Connexis, formerly the Infrastructure Industry Training Organisation, became a business division of WBL on 1 September 2021.
