A second chance at learning grows future leaders.
Ngatapuna (Puna) Kamo is forever grateful his parents moved to New Zealand from Rarotonga before he was even born.
“They didn’t have much but they came here for better opportunities,” he says. For the Manurewa man, now a father himself (he and his wife have a 14-year-old daughter), their example has been a big motivation for him.
So much so that last year he enrolled in an Upskills Workplace Training programme to better equip himself for his job - which at the time involved working as an operator on a production line at Fonterra Brand’s Takanini plant.
Fonterra offered the Upskills Workplace Training Programme as part of their overall development programme. The move has already borne fruit for both Kamo and the company. Since completing the course, he has been promoted to team leader, responsible for 28 employees across two production line teams at the plant.
His confidence growing, he is already thinking about asking his manager if he can be put forward for another Upskills programme to ready him for a new goal – a move into management.
He says the Upskills course – which he completed with co-workers over three months, with weekly sessions – was a hugely beneficial. Receiving help with a range of skills - including public speaking, the importance of working towards a goal and knowledge around health and safety issues – Kamo says advice on how to write emails was the biggest thing he got from the programme.
“I am good with my hands, but reading and writing was not a strong point of mine when I was at school. At work, I found writing emails tough and worried about spelling words wrong and stuffing it up. But through Upskills I learnt an email is not meant to be a novel; it’s about getting to the point and then sending it.
“Upskills was really good for me and, since I’ve done it, I’ve been recommending it to others (friends and work colleagues).”
It has been a long road to this point for Kamo. He first entered the workforce at a young age, leaving school in 1998 at the end of his fifth form year (the equivalent of Year 11). Unsure of what he wanted to do he drifted into random jobs, many obtained through temp agencies.
“School just wasn’t for me,” he says. “Thinking back, because I was good with my hands, I probably should have looked to a trade, but the opportunity was never there.”
One thing he never lost was his desire to always try his best and strive to be better. And, fortunately, two key women in his life would not let him forget it. “My mum was always pushing me to do better and when a friend told me there was work going at Fonterra, my fiancée (now his wife) encouraged me to apply.”
That was seven years ago and today, as team leader, Kamo supervises a 10-hour day shift, four days a week on a line producing a vast range of products including yoghurt, custard, sour cream, and cottage cheese.
“We do have ups and downs but, man, I love the place where I work. I’m happily married, my daughter is at Auckland Girls Grammar and with a three-day weekend each week I can go fishing and play a bit of golf.”
Upskills partners with companies to offer tailored on-site courses for their people, designed to help staff unlock their potential. They include numeracy and literacy, emerging leadership and communication and Project Ikuna which develops skills from a unique Pacific perspective.
Upskills director, Sarah Balfour, says employers can work with Upskills by using funds like the Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund which is available to employers with operational staff looking to build confidence in communicating, reading, digital literacy, writing, and numeracy.
Business partner Holly Patterson and Balfour began the business 10 years ago when they saw how workplace learning could contribute to lasting positive change.
“It begins with the workforce and ripples out to organisations, whānau and communities,” Balfour says. “When training goals are identified through a targeted programme, organisations see a return on their investment in multiple ways – staff engagement and retention improve, as do productivity and innovation. All of these contribute towards greater profitability.”
“Often courses involve a problem-solving component, which gives staff a platform for sharing new ideas and grows an innovative workplace culture,” she says.
“We find people, like Puna, are passionate and have great ideas about how to improve their workplace. Our courses assist organisations to find and grow their talent from within.”
For more information go to: upskills.co.nz or upskills.co.nz/courses