1. Pacific learner success
in workplace settings

2. Objectives Identify critical success factors
What we are here for?
There is still not much known about what works well, nor has there been any in-depth examination of the key characteristics of successful learning programmes for Pasifika students – Chu et al., 2013
The quote is from a literature review conducted that explored research into the success of Pasifika learners
The bullet points are the three aims of this project
Identify critical success factors
Show effective models applicable to workplace training
Improve learning outcomes for trainees

3. Consortium Pacific Perspectives Includes: Includes: Includes:
A partnership
The four ITOs that are participating, and their industry coverage
And the project involves a collaboration with Pacific Perspectives which is a Pacific owned and led consultancy
Includes:
Includes:
Includes:
Includes:
Engineering, food processing, manufacturing, forestry
Real estate, central and local government, emergency services, contact centres
Aged care, healthcare, community work, cleaning, urban pest control, youth work, social services
aviation, hospitality,
retail, museum, travel and tourism
Pacific Perspectives
Evaluation, research and project management

4. POST-IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING
Road Map
Working together
LIT. REVIEW
DATA ANALYSIS
START
PILOT DESIGN
EVALUATION
POST-IMPLEMENTATION MONITORING
High level overview of the process that the team is following
REPORT
DELIVERY

5. Show effective models applicable to workplace training
Pilots
Show effective models applicable to workplace training
The focus on our response is study groups and mentoring.
We selected study groups because the team was aware of an excellent intervention operating with another ITO that we could adapt,
There is evidence in the research that peer mentoring can have a positive impact on outcomes for learners (c/f TOPNZ research), and Careerforce has developed some resources for a general peer mentoring programme
MENTORING
Peer mentoring
STUDY GROUPS
Learner focused training

6. PILOT FACTS Learners Facilitators/mentors: 6 ITOs
8 different qualifications Level 2-3
11 workplaces
36 learners
Age: <20 – 4 learners; >20 – 32 learners
Gender: 16 female; 20 male
Ethnicity:
Samoan 44%
Tongan 7%
Cook Island Māori 3%
Other 14%
Unknown 14%
Facilitators/mentors: 6
ITOs
7 employees across 4 ITOS
4 Pacific 3 non Pacific interviewed

7. (in or outside workplace)
Approach to Analysis
ITOs
Learning support role
(in or outside workplace)
Learners

8. Learners Barriers Success Prioritisation of learning, work, family
Unaware of range of opportunities available to learn
Cost (economic) barriers to workplace learning
Self perception of capability eg lack of confidence, language barriers
Success
Workplace context important and requires supportive employer
Relationships with facilitators are important catalyst for engaging learners
Smaller learner support groups work well particularly in breaking down the barriers
Tapping into personal motivations

9. Facilitators Characteristics of successful facilitators Barriers
Industry and work experience for context
Understand the learners’ lived reality
Address diverse barriers to engaging in learning
Incorporates practical learning and supportive learning environment
Barriers
Learning resources – generic rather than contextualised
Work schedules during peak work periods
Finding ways to respond to increasingly diverse and multicultural workforce.
Success
Authority to validate the learning
Able to contextualise the learning
Close relationship with the context and skilled in creating practical forms of learning (language of choice)

10. Industry Training Organisations (ITOs)
Few senior Pacific roles in ITOs
ITOs could do more to strength their strategic focus on Pacific learners
Greater awareness about issues for Pacific learners in workplace is needed – with employers and within ITOs
Employers
ITO staff include engaging with employers and assisting the facilitators function
Engagement with employers about Pacific learner issues can be challenging due to lack of evidence to support recommendations to employers around improving Pacific learners’ participation and engagement
Businesses with high numbers of Pacific employees are more willing to engage

11. Recommendations
Engage with Pacific families and learner support networks to better inform around industry training opportunities and the ‘value’ of workplace learning
‘…I looked at how difficult it was finding these kinds of opportunities to prepare me for these types of job, which helps our understanding with the rules and the requirements, it gets us out of our difficult situations. I can see that there will be few people that will get opportunities like this, and thank God that there will be opportunities at our place of work…’

12. 2. Create a culture of motivation
2. Create a culture of motivation. Understand what motivates Pacific learners in industry training in order to establish and develop positive future-focussed goals
‘….I want to be qualified so I can give the orders instead of taking the orders’ ‘…that’s the positive thing with this place, they motivate you to become something or someone….’

13. 3. Implement learning support mechanisms that address perceptions as well as fostering confidence and motivation
‘…when I first started here I do English course through here like a workplace course and then this course and a health and safety course, it’s like , I’ve never work in a company that offers heaps, heaps of companies make you work and never give you opportunities…

14. 4. Provide support for facilitators as key role in industry training 5
4. Provide support for facilitators as key role in industry training 5. Contextualise and tailor the learning
‘…we share what we think. We explain it…the question in (Pacific language) and then we all share ideas and then we go from there.’ ….we have Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Cook Islands (coordinators) and that’s a bonus….I can say ‘hey, can you help, I’m trying to explain, but I’m not sure if they ‘ve got it’…..and that’s when they (coordinators) come in as well ….. I say …just come and see me or if you would rather see someone who can translate ….book a time with a coordinator….’

15. 6. Take a broad view of Pacific workplace success.
‘….that’s success for us, taking what they are learning and applying it, not just at work but for home….I met with his wife and she was saying before he did the course he didn’t actually read to his kids, he was really shy….since doing the course, it became a thing for him and his son reading to each other, that’s what you want to see out of it…not just helping us in the workplace setting but it’s carrying over to people’s lives…’

17. There is an ever-present tendency to apply conventional wisdom (main-stream / generic) to our Pasifika Trainees. It is far more important to establish the individual needs of learners before any ‘solution’ are initiated.
Organisational and practitioner critical reflection must be integral part of the process to avoid the tendency to regress towards the conventional”.
Joel Rewa-Morgan from Careerforce