Teaching the skills that change lives
AFTER 30 years in the education business, Sue Bowerman still enjoys turning up for work. It’s not because she’s the boss but because she feels she’s making a difference.
Bowerman runs the Bowerman School, catering for students wanting skills to get into, or back into, the workplace. The campus has been in Newtown for the past eight years after starting out in Martin Square three decades ago.
‘‘I’d been working at the Wellington Arts Centre running classes and teaching, and thought I’d go out on my own,’’ Bowerman says.
‘‘I applied for funding [via the Tertiary Education Commission] and away we went.’’
Bowerman started getting students to do costuming work for the Avalon television studios as well as ballet and opera companies and then progressed into fashion design.
‘‘We taught screen-printing, pattern drafting – and we built up quite a reputation.’’
In fact, several of Bowerman’s students have gone on to achieve international success.
A few years ago the government changed the funding model. Placing people in the fashion industry ceased to be seen as vital to New Zealand’s growth so Bowerman was quick to look for other opportunities.
‘‘You have to be able to adapt,’’ she says.
‘‘So when the Ministry of Social Development asked if we’d be interested in looking at doing a learner-driver’s course for single mums and under 18s we said ‘Yeah, we can do that’, and did.’’
Bowerman also runs a jobseeking course called Design Your Career and the school is now considered one of MSD’s most successful support organisations.
‘‘We try and keep the courses as fluid as possible so students get what they need,’’ she says.
There are three on staff besides Bowerman.
‘‘We have two tutors covering CV skills, cover letters and motivation, plus another handling numeracy and literacy, and I’m doing the learner licence course.’’
That’s probably because in another life Bowerman was a traffic officer, when the Ministry of Transport ran things separately from the police.
‘‘I was the first female traffic cop in Wellington,’’ she says. ‘‘At the age of 17 – I was a baby.’’ Bowerman worked alongside traffic officer Ken McLeod, who became famous over a road-side stoush with Bob Jones [now Sir Robert]. McLeod, who died in 2008, was a honey, she says.
‘‘And what a lot of people don’t know is that Ken got a Christmas card from Bob every year and a signed copy of every book Bob published.’’
Bowerman swapped the ticket book for a set of keys and a job as a prison officer.
‘‘I worked out at Arohata for three or fours years,’’ she says. ‘‘It’s frightening how quickly people become institutionalised – we’d get really strong women coming in and within in a fortnight they’d be meek and compliant.’’
She’s still seeing that sort of institutionalisation in some of her students these days.
‘‘We’re finding more and more people over 50, especially men, that employers just don’t want to know.
‘‘All that experience and knowledge going out the window, it’s scary – these people aren’t even getting interviews.’’
One of the problems, she says, is that people who find themselves out of work after years in just one job don’t know how to go about finding another.
‘‘One of our people had been applying for work from home without any success – he’d never had to write a CV before – and was feeling quite isolated.
‘‘He’s come here, learnt how to write cover letters, how to put his own personality into it, he’s around other people who are in the same situation, and he’s gone from a defensive person to getting out and feeling positive.’’
Another man in his fifties had been unemployed for two years before signing up for a course.
‘‘He had a wealth of knowledge, was very well presented, everything going for him, but because he’d been unemployed for so long he was very down. All he needed was to have his CV tweaked, his confidence built up and a few interview skills, because if you haven’t been for an interview for a long time it’s all changed – and he’s gone from the dole to six figures.’’
There are around 30 students on the books at any one time, Bowerman says, and there’s a broad range.
‘‘We’ve got students with multiple degrees, and then we’ve got students who have no qualifications at all – so it’s across the board.’’ Requirements vary as well. ‘‘Sometimes all they need is a bit of confidence building and learning interview skills, she says.
‘‘For some people it’s as simple as getting them a site-safe or a forklift certificate. We’ve got others doing Xero packages.’’
Bowerman has a favourite success story.
‘‘One student we had this year had been unemployed for 28 years, ‘‘ she says.
‘‘We did her CV, helped her write a cover letter, and then prepped her for the interview – and she nailed her first one. That’s her income almost doubled – she’s a caregiver now and she’s loving it. And, they’re loving her.’’
Not everyone’s story ends as happily.
‘‘Most don’t get a job first time out, or even second. But even if they don’t, the change I see in them – their confidence, their outlook – over the 13 weeks is phenomenal. I’m being a bit selfish here but I get such a buzz.’’
Finding potential employers is no easy task but Bowerman is not afraid to pull a few strings.
‘‘Whatever it takes,’’ she says. ‘‘I’m not above calling up people who know someone who knows someone and so on, or I’ll get on the phone to friends who run businesses and ask them to have a look at a particular person I think would suit them.’’
A bit of a gimmick can be handy too.
‘‘I know it sounds a bit twee, but for cafe work we’ll get students to cold call with a Kit Kat at saying ‘Have a break, have a Kit Kat and read my CV’.
‘‘It works – not all the time but it works. You do whatever you have to do.
‘‘I admire places like Bunnings. The staff range from 18-60 and they’re taking on people with all that experience. And their training works – everyone I’ve talked to knows all about the stock. I think it’s awesome but unfortunately there aren’t many employers like that.’’
A new job or even retirement isn’t an option for Bowerman.
‘‘Dream job? This is it – I can’t think of anything better.
‘‘I could count on the fingers of one hand the numbers of dramas we’ve had over the years. I’ve met some awesome people, and got a lot of them into awesome jobs. And that’s an awesome job right there.’’