Support work trainees to get slice of $7m boost
Apprentices training to help the mentally ill, addicted and disabled will benefit from a $7 million Government funding boost announced on Tuesday.
Industry training organisation Careerforce business development general manager Gill Genet said the need for apprentices beyond the construction industry was paramount.
Careerforce introduced New Zealand’s first health and well being apprenticeship courses in January.
Genet said upskilling workers in these areas could reduce societal issues such as family violence and suicide.
The 2016 Budget added $14.4m to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) funding pool. Genet said Careerforce received $2.6m fund to apprenticeships this year and would apply for about 20 per cent more funding for 2018.
She said the $7m funding boost made her hopeful TEC would grant the extra money.
Genet said there was still a lack of understanding about how apprenticeships supported work.
Apprentices on the 12- to 18-month online course apply real life examples to 13 modules about recognising unsafe environments, working with different cultures, leadership and resilience.
Genet said full-time support workers did not typically have time to train on the job, but since the apprenticeships were introduced, nearly 100 mental health and addiction support workers signed up to the programme.
Most of Careerforce’s 394 apprentices were European women in their 40s working in Auckland and Wellington.
Goldsmith said the growing popularity of support work apprentices was positive for the economy because the demand for skilled health workers was increasing as the population aged.