Kia ora koutou,
As a key provider and developer of infrastructure training, one of our overarching goals at Connexis | Te Pūkenga is to support both learners and employers as we all work to build skills capability for the individual, company and industry.
That support takes many forms. While primarily our focus might be developing, delivering and assessing work-based learning for the civil, energy, telecommunications and water sectors, we are always looking for ways to ensure learners are supported to progress and complete their training while balancing their other commitments around job, whānau, sports, hobbies and community service.
Two new initiatives are designed to do just that, both established through grants from the Infrastructure Education & Training Charitable Trust (IETCT).
The Connexis Outward Bound Scholarship will help our industry’s aspiring leaders to test their resilience and adaptability, while boosting confidence and setting them up to realise their full potential.
Meanwhile the new Connexis Financial Assistance Fund is designed to support learners who are struggling to progress through their training programme. A grant of up to $3000 is available to successful applicants to help them overcome training hurdles such as access to resources, access to learning support or the pressure of managing work, family and learning.
It is extremely gratifying to be able to offer initiatives such as these, as well as other pastoral support in the form of the free 24/7 counselling through our partner Vitae, that provides learners extra support to be able to succeed.
While these initiatives can help safeguard the emotional wellbeing and safety of our people, we also took some time in April to shine a light on those tasked with keeping our people safe onsite. Though International Health and Safety Day on 28 April was a good chance to reflect on the important work done by health and safety specialists in all workplaces, it was also a good time to remember that every day is health and safety day onsite. Those tasked with managing it aren’t there to police but to protect and care for everybody onsite and ensure they get home to their families safely.
Other projects launched recently include the NZ Certificate in Wind Farm Maintenance (Level 3) and the NZ Certificate in Wind Farm Maintenance (Level 4). These programmes are a great example of Connexis’ commitment to ensuring skills training continually evolves to meet new technology and skills requirements. Wind farms are a rapidly growing part of New Zealand’s electrical supply landscape and we expect demand for these courses to grow as new farms expand across the motu.
We have also recently added Programme+ Pipeline Construction and Maintenance (PCM) to further upskill people who already have an NZQA qualification in PCM or the equivalent.
As we head toward the middle of what has already been an eventful year for infrastructure businesses, we are thrilled to be hosting another series of Girls with Hi-Vis® events around the country in June. This has become a vital flagship event for the infrastructure industry as we continually seek to address skills shortages, by making our industry much more visible and viable as a career choice for young women. With a record number of businesses taking part, we expect this year’s event to be another huge success.
Kaarin Gaukrodger
Director, Connexis | Te Pūkenga
