News

November 2022

Auckland’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Centre: supporting ‘an underutilised source of talent’

Wed, 2022-11-02 09:29

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Centre was established by Dr Sangeeta Karmokar six years ago and although Covid claimed the best part of two years, the Centre has provided education workshops for over five years and supported over 90 start-ups.

The large majority of participants are migrants or former refugees, who are, as the Centre’s website says, ’an underutilised source of talent.’

Women especially are under-represented in entrepreneurial roles, but as many women want to start up a family business with their husbands, men are welcome on the programmes too.

Whānau learning together at Hagley College: supporting refugee and migrant parents

Wed, 2022-11-09 09:43

Hagley Adult Literacy Centre (HALC) provides opportunities for learners to develop their literacy, numeracy, communication and computer skills, helping adults learn English, gain qualifications, find a job and participate in the community.

In their May report to TEC this year HALC noted that they had 59 former refugee learners and 245 migrant learners enrolled in their programmes.

Some of these adults have their children enrolled in Hagley’s preschool.

The rise of new credentials: Micro-credentials

Wed, 2022-11-16 10:03

By Professor Mick Grimley, Dean of Future Learning and Development, University of Canterbury

Ruatoria Learning Centre: an engine-room for sustainable living and development

Wed, 2022-11-23 10:36

Ruatōria is isolated. It’s about 130 kilometres away from its nearest town, Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Gisborne, and has a population of around 900 of whom nearly 80 percent are Māori.

Since 1983 the town has had a Learning Centre. Today the centre is funded by the Eastern Institute of Technology, which supports an ACE programme and a number of mostly free NZQA levels 2 and 3 programmes.

Smart Waikato: using partnerships to create sustainable pathways for rangatahi

Wed, 2022-11-30 10:50

Smart Waikato is an education and employment NGO which is working on systemic change.

They aim to achieve three main goals: increased youth employment, reduced regional skill shortages, and partnerships between educators and employers.

Their focus is on building the capability of educators, employers, iwi and community organisations so that (a) rangatahi can successfully transition into jobs that they are prepared for – and want, and (b) employers get a motivated employee, who is a good fit for the job.