Challenges and Opportunities

The recession and a shift in Government employment training policy has accelerated planned improvements at Employment Plus and forced a few unplanned changes.

Since 2008, government funding for Employment Plus training places has been cut by 20 per cent. Places required by the transport sector—Employment Plus’ largest private customer—contracted 40 per cent. The result has been a reduction in learners from 3000 in 2008, when the recession started, to 2000 this year. Despite unemployment rising to 6.8 per cent, Employment Plus has managed to improve slightly on its 2008 performance of placing 62 per cent of learners into jobs or higher education.

Chief Executive Mark Pickering says reorganising Employment Plus to adapt to the new environment has resulted in a more efficient and capable training provider, but it has come at a cost.

Experienced staff were lost when Employment Plus replaced seven regional administrations with a single national one, removing the regional management layer. Changes in technology and administration created additional stress for management and staff.

‘It’s been towards the traumatic end of the change management experience,’ says Mark. ‘But I’m delighted to say the vast majority of staff have responded to the challenges as a real opportunity rather than seeing them purely as a nuisance.’

Employment Plus now administers all centres from its national office in Wellington. The centralisation of administration and accounting has significantly reduced costs. Mark says the 12.5 per cent reduction in overheads is critical to weathering the downturn.

Employment Plus has also introduced an IT-based system to manage and monitor the progress of learners. This replaces a paper-based record system and ensures fast and accurate tracking of learners, from enrolment and the setting of personal development programmes through to monitoring their progress during courses.

Apart from Employment Plus now being leaner and more agile, one of the main spinoffs of the restructuring is that it has standardised best practice as a training provider across New Zealand. ‘This is critical if we are to meet the government’s training requirements and get trainees into work in a tough labour market,’ Mark explains.

In line with the territorial mission of The Salvation Army, Employment Plus has been helping Kiwis escape poverty and move into meaningful employment for the past 32 years—more than 60,000 people to date. It does this by providing fully-accredited courses, from core subjects like literacy and numeracy through to nationally-recognised qualifications. The latter include heavy transport, engineering, farming, retail, computing and hospitality.

Further changes for Employment Plus are in the wind. Policy changes announced in August show the Government’s overriding priority is to get work quickly for the more than 40,000 people who have been added to the pool of unemployment beneficiaries since the recession started. The main focus is on those who are at risk of becoming long-term unemployed.

Formerly funded by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), learner placements for people over 18 and their funding will be divided between the TEC and Work and Income New Zealand.

While adult learners have typically attended year-long programmes, the government has dictated that courses for people who are at high-risk of becoming long-term unemployed will be 26 weeks and courses aimed at those with a medium risk of becoming long-term unemployed will be of 13 weeks’ duration. Learners can do a maximum of two courses, but not both with The Salvation Army.

Employment Plus learners have traditionally been mostly early school leavers — some at risk of criminal off ending — and the long-term unemployed. Employment Plus staff  and its network of chaplains put substantial effort into removing barriers that may have blocked learners’ progress in education or in getting work. These barriers include inadequate diet, clothing or sleep, low levels of literacy or numeracy, dysfunctional families, criminal distractions, health problems or addictions, and abuse or bullying. Usually, some intensive care in the form of social services and attitude coaching unlocks the door to learning.

The organisation’s chaplaincy service has been critical in helping address these barriers. Mark says when he began work at Employment Plus, 18 months ago, he was greatly encouraged by the staff’s endorsement of chaplaincy support for both themselves and learners.

By Jon Hoyle (from War Cry magazine)