Getting the best results for Fire and Emergency training programmes

Te Pūkenga is working with Fire and Emergency New Zealand to enhance quality assurance and professional development within its assessment regime.

While most Kiwis know Fire and Emergency as the essential service they call for help; the organisation is also a major training provider making sure personnel have the skills they need to carry out often demanding roles.

Fire and Emergency delivers two New Zealand Qualifications Authority-accredited programmes and three hundred separate unit standards to its personnel.

“Quality assurance and continuous improvement are the cornerstones of maintaining the highest standards,” says Te Pūkenga Pourangi Mātauranga me ngā Pūnaha Ako  | Deputy Chief Executive – Academic Centre and Learning Systems, Dr Megan Gibbons.

Under the terms of an agreement signed with the organisation, Te Pūkenga will provide post-moderation services until July 2024.

The agreement covers more than 9,000 results recorded for around a thousand ākonga (learners) in a range of courses delivered to volunteer and career kaitinei ahi (firefighters), as well as communication centre workers.

“The resources and expertise within the national network allow Te Pūkenga to provide these services to Fire and Emergency, a significant nationwide organisation carrying out a critical role with very specialised needs,” says Dr Gibbons.

Deputy Chief Executive People, Janine Hearn, says this partnership is another important step in the mahi underway to improve the systems and processes the organisation has in place to monitor the quality of training programmes provided.

“We remain confident that the training our personnel receive continues to be a high standard. The support from Te Pūkenga will help us improve our assessment and moderation so we can offer our people, and all New Zealanders, the same certainty.”

Careerforce | Te Pūkenga will lead the delivery of the contract. The business division has considerable experience across all aspects of quality assurance, moderation processes and their use to support professional development.

From 2017 -2020, Careerforce, on behalf of Ministry of Health, assessed equivalencies of learning outcomes for New Zealand Certificate in Health & Wellbeing Level 2 and 4 with international qualifications held by kaimahi working in our healthcare sector.

This assessment was carried out as part of the implementation of the Care and Support Workers pay equity settlement.

“The pay equity mahi really showed the capability of our people and organisation to manage complex, large scale evaluation projects,” say Careerforce Executive Director Rod Bentham.  

“We are looking forward to working with Fire and Emergency and its assessors,” says Mr Bentham.