Please enable JS

INFO BRIEF | New partnership to make a world of difference

home/ About Us / News / Literacy
Literacy

With the current construction environment and the local industry spread so thinly and requiring significant increases of plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers, effectively maintaining a pool of talented and competent tradespeople can be challenging. During these times of significant demand for our trades, as an industry, we need to be proactively seeking the solutions to alleviate the problem.


New partnership to make a world of difference

With the current construction environment and the local industry spread so thinly and requiring significant increases of plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers, effectively maintaining a pool of talented and competent tradespeople can be challenging.


During these times of significant demand for our trades, as an industry, we need to be proactively seeking the solutions to alleviate the problem.

One circumstance that has become apparent to us recently, has been the fact that some people have actually completed their training - but have grappled with passing the Board’s exams to become registered.

This is a situation mostly due to literacy and numeracy issues - a struggle with words and numbers.

Some, after many attempts, have passed their registration exams, and others, unfortunately, have decided to adjust their career pathways as a consequence of this difficulty.

Over the past ten months, we have been working together with Literacy Aotearoa on an initiative that better tailors our registration exam options for people who may approach literacy and numeracy in a different way. 

The pilot programme launched last September, involved 20 participants and resulted in the positive feedback and percentages in exam pass rates we needed to keep offering the programme.

The Board and Literacy Aotearoa are happy to announce a programme particularly designed for people working in our industry is now a permanent fixture available in exam support options. 


About the programme

The target audience:

  • those who struggle with literacy and numeracy; that may be dyslexic, be challenged by the use of English, or suffer from severe anxiety.

The possible outcomes in terms of examination options:

  • extra time is given and/or reader-writer assistance. In some instances, an oral exam can be recommended in lieu of a written exam.

The cost of the programme

  • Literacy Aotearoa will charge a $387.50+GST fee per applicant. The Board’s standard exam fee will be charged for each written exam attempt ($350 inclusive of GST). 
  • Fees for oral examinations; charged on a cost recovery basis, where travel arrangements might affect costs.
  • Fees for mentoring or learning support services offered/recommended by Literacy Aotearoa or other parties may be payable if undertaken and no government or TEC funding is available for them.

 

Register your interest

Tradespeople who are interested in taking advantage of this programme, should contact Literacy Aotearoa: