Arotahi: Pathway to employment given an extra boost

Steve Tipu has a new role at Learning Innovations to keep people get into their chosen career pathway.

Learning Innovations work to raise numeracy and literacy rates in Hawke's Bay and it now has a new offering called Arotahi.

"We are here to help people who are trying to get into work who are going into further training and we support them however we can," says Steve Tipu.

Tipu has been appointed as the new Arotahi education and employment co-ordinator for Learning Innovations.

Clients get support with putting together or updating their CVs as they plan and look towards their future pathways.

"A big percentage of them want to work and often they haven't been able to get work either through being on the benefit or sometimes they're not interested in the types of jobs they've been offered."

His role means working with individuals to help them on to the pathway to employment that they are passionate about.

He says they work with all kinds of people including refugee migrants but the majority of their clients of Māori and Pacific.

Tipu is based in Napier and considers his role as careers adviser while also helping with their education background or even helping those who want a completely different career path.

"My role is very much giving them advice on either what they want to look at in the tertiary sector or trades or whatever avenue it may be."

Learning Innovations has been helping the community improving their numeracy and literacy for the past 18 and a half years.

Managing director Alieta Uelese says they usually see around 400 students a year and some of them say it has been a good journey.

"Arotahi can take it to the next step, we prepare them with what they need and then help them to get to their end goal," says Uelese.

Learning Innovations sees people come in at all different levels "we get a lot of young parents who didn't finish school themselves and they want to be able to read to their kids".

"We've had 70 year olds who want to be able to read to their grandchildren but don't know how and that's why we started our foundation, because it's about building the foundation."

Learning Innovations has centres in Napier, Waipukurau, Hastings and Flaxmere and can be found on Facebook under Learning Innovations Ltd.