Free Support Worker Training Helps Boosts Home & Community Workforce By 700

Over 700 new staff have now joined New Zealand’s health care workforce thanks to a free online training course offered by community health training provider, MySkill.

Managing Director of New Zealand Health Group, Josephine Gagan said the free training course was introduced by MySkill [a company owned by New Zealand Health Group] to open up opportunities for new people to join the healthcare sector and reduce the significant sector-wide workforce gap.

“This free online Community Health training course has been designed to be relevant, easy, and flexible. It recognises the importance of enabling people to gain the requisite, valuable skills to become a support worker in ways that work for them,” said Ms Gagan.

She adds “Investing in building and developing our home and community workforce is critical. With a 20 – 25% vacancy rate across all our providers, we have an acute need to attract more healthcare workers who have the passion and skills to support our vulnerable people living at home.

“It’s fantastic that 700 people have already completed this training course and are now successfully working with our clients and helping them live well in their own homes.

“The course includes NZQA Unit Standards so it’s also a great stepping-stone into ongoing training that can lead to more specialist roles within the healthcare sector, including nursing.

“We know offering training that can lead to a career pathway is really important. Especially with the increasing demand for in-home support to assist with our ageing population and the delivery of more heath care services in the community,” said Ms Gagan.

After moving to New Zealand, Molly Ndondo used the free MySkill training to realise her dream to work in health care and is now a support worker in Christchurch.

“I am glad I made that choice, because of the knowledge and skills I acquired through studying Level 2, I am now more culturally competent and can carry out my job with ease. I’ve already started pursuing Level 3 and I am not planning to stop there. I'll keep improving my skills so that I can have in-depth knowledge and be able to help/support different kinds of people with different circumstances effectively.”

Earlier this year, Fiona Broughton decided to rejoin the workforce after taking a break. To help her prepare she enrolled with MySkill and has just completed the free NZ Certificate in Health and Wellbeing Level 2 training.

“I found the MySkill online learning and assessments excellent. The staff were amazing and really helpful. Fiona now works for HealthCare NZ as a Support Worker in Rotorua, providing in home assistance to people in need. “I love meeting and assisting different clients, it is a rewarding job.”

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