Savvy start for students
The final decal has gone up, the desks are clean and the new classroom is ready to go.
Upper Hutt’s Strictly Savvy is running a business administration course aimed at helping people jump back into the workforce.
Owner Jo Muggeridge has been busy setting everything up and said she was excited for the students to come through.
Fifteen women from different walks of life will be coming in and learning, or relearning, skills to help businesses.
‘‘They may have gone through some things - in their relationships, having kids or just want to get back into work,’’ Muggeridge said.
The course starts on May 8 with students coming in weekdays between 9 and 3, leaving time for parents to drop off or pick up their kids from school, Muggeridge said.
Over eight weeks, the students will be tackling admin tasks from bookkeeping to personal assistant skills, learning in real time as they work for Hutt Valley businesses. At the end they would come out with a unit standard equivalent to a Year 12 accounting course through NCEA.
Hands-on skills would be an important part of their lessons as well, as Strictly Savvy outsourced their skills.
Local businesses could sign up to outsource basic admin tasks through the course.
‘‘We’ve gone out to businesses in the Wellington region and offered them the opportunity for them to request tasks.
‘‘It’s giving [the students] that real-life experience. I know we can make such a huge difference in their lives.’’
This course is the first of several for Strictly Savvy as once this one finishes, another one will start up, coinciding with school terms.
Funding for the course was covered in full by the Ministry of Social Development.