Workshops coming up in 2012

Practical Project Management Presenter: Ron Eckman, Apex Project Management Ltd Wednesday 27 June 2012 Forum North, Whangarei Cost $490 + gst

Leading & Managing Teams in the Workplace    Presenter: Richard Bird, Learning Works Monday 23 July 2012 Forum North, Whangarei Cost $350 + gst

 Developing the skills of Maori farm employees      

 May 2012

Venture Group has been exploring the literacy and numeracy needs (including digital and financial literacy) of Maori farm employees in Northland.

The project, which is partly funded by AKO Aotearoa’s Regional Project Fund, involved Jill Hartles from Venture Group working with a sample of Maori employees from three different types of farms in Northland.  The farms included two State-owned Landcorp stations, one Maori Trust-owned farm, and two privately owned and owner-operated farms. 

Jill visited each farm and explained the project to the farm managers and staff.  Jill also used this meeting to learn more about the work tasks required so that she could put together a literacy/numeracy assessment which would identify any possible knowledge gaps between what is expected and what staff are able to do.

During this initial visit the 5 participating farms and 17 Maori staff indicated their willingness to take part in the research project.  The 17 staff completed a self-assessment which required them to rate their skill level against a list of generic literacy and numeracy skills, their digital and computer knowledge and skills, and their understanding of 26 financial terms.   

On Jill’s second visit each person completed an in-depth literacy/numeracy assessment based on the literacy/numeracy demands of their work. The results of these assessments have been presented to the participants and a summary report written for each of the farm owners or managers.

Neil Shaw and Jill Hartles will be presenting the broader findings from the project at the Industry Training Federations’ Literacy Forum in Wellington in June.