Any industry in New Zealand can benefit from having skilled workers who are trained in passing on their knowledge.
To help employers and individuals increase their training skills and capabilities, SIT2LRN offers a number of adult education qualifications, and programme manager Steve Woller says they have broader applications than most people think.
Adult education facilitator Dr Liz Hardy agrees there are people signing up for adult education training from a huge range of industries, including corporate HR, Government, rural vets, construction, prisons, the beauty industry and ambulance training.
Education qualifications available through SIT2LRN include the NZ Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (Vocational Workplace), NZ Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching (Levels 4 & 5), and NZ Diploma in Adult and Tertiary Teaching (Level 6).
Steve says the programmes are suitable for people working as tutors in tertiary education (teaching a trade or skill that they have experience in already) or industry training.
“Many of our students work in industry and train their colleagues and teams. They are usually looking to reinforce their skillset and gain a qualification that recognises their experience.”
Many students continue in their current positions while studying, and some use the qualifications gained to get into the industry.
“Others will use it as stepping stones to further education and/or gaining promotion in their current industry. An example would be army trainers who are able to expand their training responsibilities through completion of our course.”
The level 4 and 5 certificates cover practical aspects of teaching adults, including designing and evaluating learning sessions, using standards to assess performance, evaluating own performance, moderating assessments and the cultural aspects of teaching adults.
The level 6 diploma delves deeper and includes theoretical principles of adult learning, course design, materials development, quality assurance, professional practice and leadership.
Steve says the adult education and training courses are ideally suited for distance learning.
“I might be biased, but online delivery is awesome for students in these courses.
“All these courses require some application of the learning which means that it is more difficult for students to attend onsite learning and also have time to do their own teaching and reflections.
“Distance learning allows the students to study in their own time and continue working where they get the experience that feeds back into their studies.”
SIT2LRN offers exceptional flexibility – students can study part time, from as little as one paper per intake, or up to full-time study of about 40 hours per week.
“Everything is delivered online so there are no workshops or classes to attend.
“We have students across New Zealand in the armed forces, construction, primary industries, etc. who are upskilling their teams and helping build New Zealand’s 21st century economy. We are pretty proud of that.”