Pasifika employees engaged in workplace training have a greater chance of success if they’re surrounded by a supportive team – that’s just one of the findings from a recent study which is offering valuable guidance to employers across the region.
The report – Pacific Learner Success in Workplace Settings – comes after four industry training organisations combined forces to run a two-year research program investigating the conditions which work best for Pacific learners.
“Excitingly, our research has shown that supportive workplace and family environments, good relationships with training facilitators and small learner support groups help make a positive difference to the success of Pacific learners,” said Ifi Ripley, learning engagement advisor with Careerforce – one of the ITOs involved in the scheme.
Ripley noted that the typical Pacific household is one where family comes first, before work or education commitments, which is why familial support is so important.
“Some also have English as a second language, so language can be a barrier for some learners, as understanding course materials and completing assessments in English can take longer for these Pacific learners,” she added.
Gill Genet, acting CEO for Careerforce, called on employers to heed the report and help boost educational outcomes for the many Pacifica communities across New Zealand.
“While educational outcomes for Pacific people in New Zealand are improving, more work needs to be done to address any disparities between Pacific learners and other New Zealand learners,” she said.
“According to our research and the TEC statistics, we see that Pacific learners are less likely to complete their qualifications, so, it’s important that ITOs, employers and training facilitators work together to ensure the best possible success rates for our Pacific learners and tailor support mechanisms and training accordingly.”
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