From Support Worker to Service Manager, Tegan Coote is now pursuing a leadership qualification to make an even bigger impact.
Driven by personal mental health challenges and a passion for helping others, Tegan began her mental health support career in 2015 with PACT in Invercargill, where she later completed an apprenticeship with Careerforce. Now, she is seven months into her Level 5 Diploma in Business (Leadership and Management) qualification, also supported by the work-based learning provider.
During her apprenticeship, Tegan worked one-on-one with young people recovering from, or affected by mental illness for the Southland branch of PACT. The organisation provides support for people recovering from mental illness or with intellectual disabilities.
PACT Service Manager and Mental Health Champion, Tegan Coote
Relocating to Central Otago in 2019 to begin a role in early childhood teaching, offered her a fresh start and a new focus. However, while Tegan valued this experience, her true passion remained in mental health, prompting her to shift back into the sector.
“I’ve always been very passionate about mental health and with mental health experience myself, I really wanted to give back,” says Tegan.
Rejoining PACT in 2021, at their Central Otago branch, initially as a support worker, Tegan then transitioned into her current role as Service Manager.
PACT’s presence in Central Otago is relatively new, according to Tegan, so to help grow the organisation’s identity in the region, she often needs to explain their mission and services to those unfamiliar with their work.
“Networking with other support services and managing some incoming referrals is a big part of what I do, as well as building and maintaining relationships with those other services, so that referrals continue coming in, and I guess, being a face for PACT.”
PACT’s services in Central Otago have expanded over time, encompassing both mental health and intellectual disability support. While another service manager oversees the intellectual disability sector, Tegan manages the mental health side, which she says is experiencing significant growth.
Tegan was keen to learn more about herself as a leader. “A colleague mentioned that she had found parts of the Diploma really beneficial for her role,” says Tegan. “My manager also mentioned it to me and I really like the style of Careerforce learning. It’s based on what you do and then applying what you do and how you work.”
The Diploma is a 20-month part-time work-based learning programme designed for leaders and managers who are seeking to expand their leadership and management toolkit within their own work-based context.
“The hardest thing for me is not over thinking the answers that I’m giving. Just keeping it quite straightforward and clear and linking that to evidence to back it up,” she adds.
Tegan recalls how one of the initial learning modules gave her a greater perspective that helped her articulate PACT’s services and values to others.
“The best thing for me was being able to dig a bit deeper into PACT as an organisation and analyse what our strategic plan is, the things that we do really well, and potential areas of growth.
Central Otago’s Mental Health Champion, Tegan Coote
“The module about leadership and discovering your own communication style was also really helpful, in terms of how you can interact with staff. It gives you a better perspective on how people have different communication styles and how to adapt yours to communicate more effectively with others.”
Careerforce provides a leadership and management coach for the duration of the programme. Tegan adds that the regular check-ins and feedback from advisors like Colleen Eason and Erica Carson have been invaluable, helping to ensure she keeps on the right path with her learning.
A strong advocate for Careerforce and work-based learning, Tegan, also now supports a staff member who is completing an apprenticeship. “It’s so great being able to do it while working – just using your experience and your day-to-day work to guide you through your study.”
Contact Careerforce for more information about completing the Leadership and Management Diploma or Health and Wellbeing Apprenticeships via work-based learning.
Susan Tattersall