As part of our Thriving People workstream, SBC ran a co-design process in 2020 to help organisations prepare for the Future of Work, resulting in this micro-credential pilot. It brought members from different sectors together, including Auckland Unlimited, Sanford, IAG, BNZ, and NZ Steel, with MBIE.
Read more in Robert Perry’s blog.
Video by David Schaaf.
Transcript
Robert Perry, Sustainable Business Council, Manager, Thriving People
We know the world of work is rapidly changing, no more than now, so it’s important that we’re building the capabilities of our businesses and our employees to adapt to the future of work.
Back in 2019, we worked with a number of our members to build an innovative co-design process to identify projects that could help businesses and their staff prepare for the future of work.
Our purpose was simple: it was to drive action towards and to shape an inclusive, positive, sustainable future of work where people could thrive.
One of the areas of innovation was leaving no one behind, supporting those that were most at risk to be negatively impacted by those changes at work, particularly those who wanted to improve their literacy and numeracy.
Companies from different sectors were involved in that collaboration, the likes of Sanford, Spark, BNZ and New Zealand Steel. We piloted a microcredential to help employees upskill.
Companies were concerned that often staff were missing out with practical skills that they could help build their competencies, opening up employment pathways, leadership development opportunities and preparing for higher levels of work down the track.
Elisara Elisala, Night Shift, Auckland Factory, Sanford Ltd
We all know that the struggle is real and we need help to know how to save up and budgeting.
Sinai Po Lilly Maka (Lilly), Night Shift, Auckland Factory, Sanford Ltd
I know a lot of us, we all have the same problem, I would recommend them to join.
Claire Whitaker, Education Unlimited, Project Delivery Manager and Tutor
The participants, some of them had never used a laptop before, didn’t know how to operate a mouse, a lot of them didn’t have internet access, they were living payday to payday really and hadn’t had the opportunity to really budget for their families before or ever been guided how to do that.
Karen Duffy, Sanford Ltd, Chief People Officer
We are a very diverse organisation with people from many different countries and often people have English as a second or third language. Changing and evolving technology, ensuring our people keep up with that pace of technology, is a real concern and issue for us.
Tina Rose, Education Unlimited, Director
When people understand how to budget and how to manage their money, how to use a computer, most companies now have intranets, people are getting their payslips via email that kind of thing.
Bruce Pio, Night Shift, Auckland Factory, Sanford Ltd
I remember when I was told about the course so I thought, oh yeah, just go here just to kill time, relax, have a coffee, but then they were good because they explained everything.
Karen
The biggest emotional unlocking of pride and sense of achievement was people understanding their money, and the numeracy skills particularly, just understanding money, about debt, where their money goes, the fact that they can say no to credit cards.
Pam Ford, Auckland Unlimited, GM – Economic Development
We’ve seen as a result of Covid, Pasifika, Māori, women, young people, all be adversely affected and so the pilot happened at a really great time, in that we’re now set up to put in place some programmes that will help our people and make them more resilient for what’s coming next.
Lauren Parr, Auckland Unlimited, Skills Programme Specialist – Economic Development
One of the key things for this programme, beyond you know a tangible skill like financial literacy, it’s just going that actually learning is something that’s available to you and it can be positive, and not just a positive experience at the time, but have a long-term positive experience, and mean that learning is something you want to engage in.
Karen
It was around money confidence but the benefits are far broader than that around communication, problem solving, but also it built team camaraderie, it grew our sense, our values are care, passion, integrity and achieving together, so the programme really resonated those values for us and so strengthened their demonstration across our business, so the value has been wonderful.
Peleatia Tauaika (Pele), Night Shift, Auckland Factory, Sanford Ltd
I get to save a lot of money on this course and I expand my little business that I do on the side business, is my family business, I actually built, make it expand and then now it’s bigger and I feel like that I’m actually successful.
Lilly
Happy that I’ve done this course, because I get to learn more about saving and budgeting because I never thought that like I’ll get to have that on my mind like to save up to just for my future and my daughter and my family too.
Elisara
Work hard, save more money and buy a house and a car for the future, not only for me but it’s for my family.
Pam
We really see the potential for this programme to be scaled across New Zealand and maybe seen as a benchmark for other countries and that’s something that we know that we’re good at doing here in Auckland and in New Zealand so we’re very amped about the future of this programme.
Pele
Thank you to Sanford and Claire and her team, this mean a lot to me, change life.
