New Focus for Wintec Schools

MEDIA RELEASE

January 29 2008

What was the Wintec School of Education and Social Development has been split into separate schools to better meet the needs of the region’s sector groups.
The appointments of the Heads of Schools for School of Education and School of Social Development were announced today.

Wintec Dean Merran Davis-Havill said today that Allyson Davys has been appointed as the Head of the Wintec School of Social Development and will start at the beginning of March.

Allyson is currently a part time Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland and also runs a private supervision practice working with a range of organisations and professions. With thirty years experience in the field of social work Allyson is well known in the region for her presentations and publications as well as her work over the last 11 years as Chair of the Link House Agency.

Mrs. Davys has had over thirty years of social work experience with particular emphasis on education and training. Her social work practice has been in justice, health and community organisations. For the past fifteen years she has been particularly interested in professional supervision and training.

She has been employed at the University of Auckland since 1996 where she currently holds the position of senior lecturer.

Alyson also runs supervision training workshops for a range of professional groups which include nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech language therapists, social workers and dieticians. Generic supervision across professional groups is a particular interest.

Her earlier career included positions with Waikato Hospice, Fertility Associates in Hamilton and a wide range of freelance practitioner work.
She has a Bachelor of Social Studies (Social Work), Sydney University 1974
Masters of Social Work, MSW 1st class honours, Massey University 2002.

Paula Jackson, currently the Team Leader for our Early Childhood programmes, has been promoted to the HoS School of Education and will take up her new position on January 29. In addition to the experience and qualifications Paula brings to the role, this appointment recognises the significant contribution she has made to Wintec over a number of years, by developing programmes and staff as well as building strong internal and external networks.

Ms Davis-Havill said Head of the former school, Edgar Wilson was now leading a initiative to develop links with the region’s private training institutes. She said this was one of several ways in which the institute is working to provide successful pathways for students of all ages to access the skills training and education needed in the region now and in the future.

Today also sees the arrival of students from Kaute’ Pasifika onto Wintec’s City Campus – one of the Waikato’s leading private training enterprises providing vocational learning for the Pasifika community. This is a rare example (only the second time) in New Zealand that a tertiary provider has invited a PTE to operate on its campus.
Wintec regional relationship manager, Edgar Wilson says it’s great to see Wintec working with PTEs, rather than competing against them.
“The benefits to both Kaute’ Pasifika and Wintec are significant and this illustrate how serious Wintec’s commitment to the tertiary education strategy is,” He said.

ENDS

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