From testing water quality to operating an excavator to seeing the inner workings of a wind turbine, New Zealand’s female secondary students have had a taste of careers in the infrastructure sector – and they’ve loved it. ‘Girls with Hi-Vis®‘ (GWHV) has seen events held nationwide throughout June to offer young women the opportunity to visit infrastructure companies in their …
A new grant scheme will support visionary training initiatives that will help to step up the workforce skills of New Zealand’s infrastructure industry, with the first round of applications opening in July 2022. The scheme will be funded by The Infrastructure Education and Training Charitable Trust, and will be administered by the Public Trust. It is the legacy left to …
Connexis supports the extension of Apprenticeship Boost, as announced by Education Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday. The Government has pledged $230 million to extend the Apprenticeship Boost wage subsidy to the end of 2023. It was previously set to end on 4 August 2022. Connexis Director Kaarin Gaukrodger says this is welcome news. “New Zealand is facing a significant infrastructure deficit. …
Nominations have opened for the Connexis Excellence Awards (formerly the Connexis Industry Excellence Awards). The awards honour the best and brightest energy and telecommunications trainees from across the motu for their hard work, dedication and expertise. They also recognise those individuals who invest their time and energy in the training and development of youth in these industries. This year, the …
It’s that time of year again when we prepare to celebrate and recognise those within the civil construction sector who invest in their people and industry through work based training. We are the proud sponsors of the Connexis Civil Training Awards held on the second day of the Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) Conference, which this year will be on …
Apprenticeship Boost is a $380.6 million wage subsidy offered by Ministry of Social Development (MSD) to support employers to keep and take on apprentices. The payment is made directly to employers and was established to keep apprentices earning and training towards their qualifications as the economy recovers from the impacts of Covid. Apprenticeship Boost will be available until 4 August …
TTAF set to finish on 31 December 2022 Apprenticeships and most training programmes have been fully funded by the government since July 2020 through a scheme known as TTAF (Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund). TTAF is set to finish on 31 December 2022. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? That means apprenticeships and training programmes started from 1 January 2023 onwards will …
By Kaarin Gaukrodger, Director, Connexis – the infrastructure business division of Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning Limited Story first published in LG Magazine (March 2022 edition) Putting in place a formalised qualification and competency pathway for infrastructure workers to follow in pursuit of skills and career options is central to plugging the current gap between workforce capabilities and growing industry …
Kia ora koutou, Much is changing around us as the once-in-a-generation Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE) reaches its zenith this year. When change arrives it often appears to be inconvenient timing, even when it is addressing issues that we have long searched for better solutions for. This year we are faced with significant changes to industry training, coinciding with unprecedented …
The highlight of Katareina Kaiwai’s four-year journey to achieve her Civil Infrastructure Apprenticeship was getting it finished. That is not to say that Kat, who now runs her own roading firm, Tairāwhiti Contractors, did not enjoy her training. In fact, one of the first things she did after completing her Apprenticeship was to ask her Connexis Customer Service Account Manager (CSAM) what qualification she could do next. However, she says it was only once she got to the end of her training that she …
