Careerforce eChat July 2012

2 July 2012

New Senior Support Qualification

Careerforce is very pleased to announce that trainees can now enrol in the National Certificate in Health, Disability and Aged Support (Senior Support) Level 4.

This new qualification recognises the knowledge and skills required of Senior Support workers in a health, disability, or aged care setting.

The qualification covers the skills related to positive workplace relationships; changes to the health and wellbeing of consumers; health and wellbeing strategies; and quality objectives.

The electives section enables trainees to select standards that support their roles and work environments within an aged care, health, or disability setting.

The qualification will give Senior Support workers recognition for their skills and experience. It also enables a career pathway for those wanting the opportunity for further training after completing Foundations Skills (level 2) and Core Competencies (level 3).

This is an employer led qualification, just like Foundation Skills and Core Competencies.

Assessments and learning resources have not been developed for all of the unit standards. A range of assessments and resources are being used to support this qualification, including some that have been developed by other ITOs, for example Learning State. In addition, initial workplaces have advised that they don’t need extra learning resources as the content is business as usual.

The unit standards that trainees can choose from to complete the qualification are listed below with the dates they will become available so training plans can be developed to suit availability. Trainees may also hold other unit standards that contribute to this qualification such at the assessor unit standard 4098. The full qualification document is available on the NZQA web site. Please take a look at the other options that may go towards the qualification.

The qualification fee is $270.

For further information and the assessor scope requirements please refer to the Careerforce website or contact your Careerforce Workplace Advisor.

Assessments and learning resources will be available as follows:

New Careerforce, Health Ed Trust agreement takes effect

The new working relationship between Careerforce and Private Training Establishment Health Education Trust has fully taken effect from July 1.

Last month, an agreement was signed between Careerforce and Health Ed Trust (HET), which will have widespread benefits for training in the aged care sector.

Employers can now access both Careerforce and HET services and benefits regardless of which training resources they are utilising.

The new arrangement creates clarity and certainty in the sector.

Careerforce Workplace Advisors will support workplaces to develop their training plan and to maximise training efficiencies, andfortheir staff to gain NZQA National Certificates.

Current HET assessors will automatically become Careerforce Workplace Assessors and can participate in professional development, which also cover moderation requirements.

New assessors can attend the Careerforce Assessor training for free.

From 1st July 2012:

• New Training Agreements will be sent directly to Careerforce
• These include a qualification fee that is invoiced back to the employer
• All credits will be sent directly to Careerforce, these will immediately be sent to NZQA
• Providers can access the Iportal to gain live data about their trainee’s progress
• Careerforce will pay employers $8 (GST Inclusive) a credit for all eligible credits on a quarterly basis. Some employers are considering forwarding their payments through to HET, Careerforce can automate this process if requested.
• For existing enrolled trainees Careerforce will register all credits at no additional cost. This includes all credits currently held by HET.
• Careerforce will also enrol trainees who have sent training agreements to HET for no additional cost until 30 June 2012.
• Employers wanting to continue to make their payment at the end of training can do so by working directly through HET. In these cases, HET will arrange for the credits and national certificates to be registered with NZQA.

For further information, please contact

Careerforce: 0800 277 486

HET : 03 379 8519