Milestone graduation at Ara | Te Pūkenga for disabled workplace learners

_{Celebrating success – learners from the Ara |Te Pūkenga Kilmarnock collaboration with tutor David Spice and Disability Learning Advisor Katie Howie}

A pioneering approach to workplace education for those with an intellectual disability has been celebrated with a graduation like no other at Ara | Te Pukenga. 

The first cohort of Kilmarnock Enterprises-based ākonga (students) to achieve Level 2 credits in Food and Work Safety Practices was awarded their certificates among whānau, friends and their employers as well as leaders in the education and disability sectors. 

Kilmarnock Enterprises is an Ōtautahi-based social enterprise creating employment and development pathways for those with intellectual disabilities. Six of their team signed up to two semesters of study through Ara at the start of this year.  

The aim of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework study was to ‘develop a series of food and work safety skills that will enable the students to carry out tasks effectively and efficiently within work environments’. 

The credits are exactly those required by ākonga working towards foundation studies in the food and hospitality sector – but the content delivery has been specifically tailored. 

_{Rachel Meads receives her certificate for achieving her Level 2 credits in Food and Work Safety Practices from tutor David Spice}

Ara | Te Pūkenga Director of Disability and Inclusion, John Grant, said the entirely new approach to learning demonstrated the relentless focus on equity at Te Pūkenga by “delivering experiences to our ākonga and employers that recognise their needs and enable their success”. 

Developed on campus and delivered in the workplace by Ara staff, Grant said “this is ‘my learning my way’ in action”.  

“Too often we try and slot people into a system that isn’t designed for them and what sets this apart is we’ve designed the system and the processes around the people. We’ve constructed something that fits with the learning needs and style of this cohort so their potential for success is far greater,” he added. 

Kilmarnock Enterprises Chief executive Michael Toothill said the qualification was an opportunity to teach new aspects of food safety and hygiene while building on skills they’d been developing over many years. 

“It comes down to the training approach and the supported learning approach. Ara has a good understanding of how that one-to-one or smaller group delivery is more impactful for people with intellectual disability. There’s a good understanding of how to teach, and how learning is done,” Toothill said. 

Ryan Marshall, Cookery and Bakery manager within the Ara |Te Pūkenga Hospitality, Business and Service Industries Department, said the course was the culmination of creative thinking and collaboration to ensure the content, necessary approvals, funding and delivery stayed on track. 

“There was a lot of red tape but when you work in hospitality there’s plenty of sharp knives to cut through it!” he said tongue-in-cheek. “But seriously, it’s been a privilege to break new ground in experiential learning and it’s given us the confidence to navigate future challenges.” 

“Elements of the course are the daily mahi of these learners, but our team have stepped in to capture this direct action, align it to standards and translate it into documented evidence of learning,” Marshall said.  

Cookery Tutor David Spice and Disability Learning Advisor Katie Howie worked together to deliver class content and gather assessment material. 

“We had to be flexible in our methodologies,” Howie said. “Knowing that reading and writing was not the cohort’s preferred style, Dave was good at drawing the information out of our learners in the context of their daily practical work. We used voice recording, photos and video to document learning. At other times I wrote up the learner-led group discussions onto whiteboards which they then noted.”  

“A lot of the teaching staff might be a bit jealous because we have full attendance and full engagement from everyone,” Howie said. “They’re always prepared with workbooks set for class.” 

The ākonga themselves said they’d enjoyed working with the group and extending their knowledge.  

“I’d been thinking about doing some study, so I was really happy when our supervisor put my name forward in the first group for doing this course,” Rachel Meads said. 

Greg Duncan added that he’d got a lot from the experience. “We learned about how important it is to clean your hands, wearing health and safety gear. I’m not usually into cooking but I’m learning a lot in terms of health and safety,” he said. 

John Grant said the milestone was a demonstration of the first principles of the Ara |Te Pūkenga Disability Action Plan (DAP).  

“We’ve got an easy-to-use product, embedded with relationship building and self-determination for these ākonga which ensures a mana-enhancing process for them – all of which are key to our DAP.” 

But he’s keen to see measures put place to ensure this isn’t simply a feel-good exercise. 

“We’d like to know how employees are benefitting from these recognised competencies beyond holding a certificate and their clear enjoyment of the class. This has to be positive for their employment progression and CVs,” Grant said. 

To have their own student ID, prior knowledge recognised and a graduation celebration are all significant firsts for these working ākonga. But with a second cohort already set to start, Ara | Te Pūkenga simply hopes they’re the first of many to take this step.