12 May News Tue 12/5 – Changing Jobs. FutureU Grant.
Policy, Management & People
- Budget – ECE Chris Hipkins announced a funding increase for the ECE sector last night, which will mainly lead to higher pay for staff. There was tertiary fees assistance for up to 2,646 home-based educator students who are not eligible for fees free.
- Chaplain Otago Poly’s chaplain explained how his student support work has been going in recent weeks.
Stakeholders
- Changing Jobs Management magazine explored the challenges in helping people to shift industries, using examples of tourism guide to construction supervisor, and cabin crew to grocery picker. A GoDairy initiative, organised by DairyNZ and Federated Farmers, is looking to prepare people for dairy industry jobs – entry level training will be offered (GoDairy). The stories show how some short-term career change programmes will be organised by employers and industry associations (possibly with MSD support).
- Helping Out 173 health workers have contracted COVID-19 while caring for others, and that included 5 nursing students, according to this story. Our best wishes go to all of them.
Teaching & Learning
- FutureU Grant Canterbury Uni is introducing a study grant called FutureU of up to $7,500 per person for tuition fees. It will go to people facing redundancy, suspension or significant reductions in work hours as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19. Applications need to come from a person’s employer. Looking at it another way, it’s essentially a more targeted fees discount than Victoria Uni is promoting (which is offering free fees for Semester 2 for domestic students).
- Automotive Otago Poly put forward shovel-ready projects for government funding which included an automotive trade training centre. The $7m project was billed by CE Phil Ker as providing “additional capacity for Otago Polytechnic to deliver Modern Apprenticeship Programmes, supporting on-job training with industry, supported by theory classes and block courses delivered from the new facility”. The idea was that the facility would be needed as NZIST took on some of the roles of ITOs in 2021-22.
- Cleaners Careerforce looked at how cleaning training has benefited rest home staff under COVID-19.
- L2 Opening EIT released its campus opening plans. Otago Uni also announced some plans, and is under pressure to confirm its semester 1 exam schedule.
- 50th EIT construction students have completed their 50th house with a local building company.
- Creative AUT’s Bachelor of Creative Technology first-year students are working on a studio challenge to meet needs highlighted by COViD-19.
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