Applied Practice in the context of Employment Support
Qualification and programme overview
It is designed to qualify employment practitioners/community support workers who work closely and collaboratively to support disabled people, including those with mental health issues, to find employment.
The programme is centred on developing the competencies needed to enable disabled jobseekers to achieve their employment aspirations. The learning is transferred into work practices.
Qualification and programme overview
• Understanding relevant developments in New Zealand and the importance of evidence-based practice.
• Being jobseeker focused, working independently and continuously improving
• Working with jobseekers from diverse cultures and backgrounds
• Working alongside tāngata whenua
• Technical skills, knowledge, attributes and statutory responsibilities required for the role
Qualification and programme overview
It’s About Aotearoa
This module supports employment practitioners to become aware of what the issues and barriers are for a disabled jobseeker in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 2020’s and what initiatives are in place to attend to these.
Supporting cultural diversity
This module involves developing the skills and strategies to work with jobseekers and employers from diverse cultures and backgrounds and being confident to apply these in any situation. It is essential to your practice that jobseekers and whānau feel safe no matter what their background is. An ethics component ensures that employment practitioners manage their own professional safety, maintain professional boundaries and can manage ethical dilemmas.
Meeting needs: Joining up knowledge, skills and theory
This module explores theories, models or approaches that inform the employment practitioner’s Employment Support practice. It will focus on the techniques and methods proven to work and skills and attributes required to get good outcomes throughout the employment journey.
Critical thinking to improve practice
Employment practitioners will benefit from developing skills in problem-solving and independent decision-making in complex situations. The assessment asks for three situations where you have reflected on and adapted your practice to meet different situations.
Working within Te Ao Māori
This module is about supporting tāngata whenua to achieve their employment aspirations. It involves identifying concepts, theories and models informed by a Māori worldview and applying them when engaging with tāngata whenua.
Support practices – Practicum
Trainees evidence the competencies for Employment Support practice. This includes submission of a portfolio, a workplace observation and final discussion with the assessor. You are required to complete at least 200 hours of applying what you have learnt in your workplace.
Learning and assessment resources
Online learning and assessments can be done through Aka Toi, the Careerforce online learning platform. Access to learning facilitation, interactive learning activities, study guides, practical and theoretical content and assessment is available for this qualification.
Supporting you
Careerforce is a business division of Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning Limited. We support workplace-based training, enabling employees to achieve nationally recognised qualifications, and deliver superior outcomes across the health and wellbeing, social and community, cleaning and urban pest management sectors.
Every year we help thousands of trainees to get recognised qualifications and progress their knowledge and skills to improve their practice. With the right training programme, staff are able to contribute to their organisations and provide quality support to many people.
This New Zealand Diploma in Health and Wellbeing (Level 5) Applied Practice in the context of Employment Support has been developed in partnership with the New Zealand Disability Support Network and will be both taught and assessed by employment specialists.
Interested organisations with staff working in this area may get in touch with Fiona Wallace at fiona.wallace@careerforce.org.nz Phone: 0800 277 486 Email: info@careerforce.org.nz Web: careerforce.org.nz
CREDITS: 120
AVERAGE DURATION: 18-24 months
COST: $2000 (incl GST) FREE ENROLMENT*
Essential training for staff whose role includes supporting disabled people/ people with mental illness into employment:
• Employment Support providers
• Work and Income
• ACC
• Community Support providers
*This programme has free enrolment via the Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TFFAF)