Training for Good - June 2021

Kia ora

We hope you have been keeping well. It’s amazing how quickly the days are flying by.
Now may be a good time to check in with your assessor to see if you’re still on track with your training.

In this newsletter, we share our usual assessment and study tips, plus in our FAQs section, we talk about what you need to do if you’re moving workplaces but have not yet completed your training. We don’t want you missing out on what you’ve already completed.

We also put the spotlight on diabetes, a chronic condition affecting over 250,000 people in New Zealand. Learn about the signs and symptoms, its effects, and how you might prevent you and your whānau having diabetes.

Don’t forget to do the quiz. Answer 3 easy questions correctly and you will go into a draw to win 1 of 3 x $50 grocery vouchers. Tip: All the answers are found within this newsletter!

Lorisa describes having diabetes as like having a tenant that you need to learn to live with. She has been living with Type 1 diabetes since she was 24 years old. She shares how she coped and is currently managing her diabetes and how she is not letting it stop her living a quality life.

Phil, on the other hand, has seen the negative effects of diabetes when he was working as a nurse. He talks about the signs and symptoms of Type 2 diabetes and shares tips on how our lifestyle choices can help prevent us getting diabetes.

Prizes, prizes, prizes! Did we mention prizes?
Answer 3 easy questions correctly to get into the draw to win 1 of 3 $50 grocery vouchers.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFGJune2021
Congratulations to the quiz winners from the previous newsletter.
1.     Faizah from Enliven
2.     Karen from Lansdowne Park
3.     Jo from Vision West

We’ll contact the winners via email so don’t forget to provide your email address at the end of the quiz and we’ll publish your names in our next newsletter.

Assessor Tip: Spend time reading through the learning resources
Whether you’re doing your learning online via Aka Toi or paper-based, the learning resources provided are there to help you through your assessments.

We encourage you to spend time reading through these resources and go back to them whenever you need to. Have the resources open when you’re doing your assessments. You cannot copy what is in there, but it should give you an idea into what the assessments are asking of you. The answers are there, you just need to explain what is being asked for in your own words.

Stay healthy this winter

The National Institute of Weather and Atmosphere (NIWA) has just made the announcement that winter this year is going to be warmer and drier than last year, although “cool spells are likely to occur from time to time”.

It might seem a bit unnecessary then to talk about how to keep warm this winter but we all know that forecasting can be a bit hit and miss sometimes!

Here are our top tips for keeping warm in those cold winter spells this year:

Wrap up warm. Wear a hat, gloves, and scarf. Wear woolly socks or slippers.
Consider ways to keep your house warmer – grab a roll of foam draught stopper tape from the local hardware store and use it around windows, etc.
Watch out for dampness in your house. Cooking, showering, drying clothes – these can all cause dampness. On a warmer day, open the windows and air out the house. A dehumidifier may also be a good investment.
Have warming food and drinks – two soup recipes included here to try!
Have a favourite blanket on the couch ready to throw over yourself to keep snug.
If you are using heat pumps, check the filters regularly. If you are using a clothes dryer, clean out the filters regularly*.
*The writer has personal experience of a house burning down because the lint filter was full so never underestimate this little piece of advice.
Use a wheat bag or hot water bottle (hottie).
Bring out the slow cooker or crock pot – it uses a third of the electricity compared with an electric oven.
PAK’nSAVE has a great website with lots of information on how to use a slow cooker and some delicious easy recipes to make in a slow cooker. Yum! Slow Cooker Recipes & Meal Planner
Wattie’s also has some great recipes: Slow Cooker Recipes | Food in a Minute
Get active – do some indoor exercises or yoga. Get out in the sunshine to warm you up - even just a walk around the block. Think happy thoughts – spring will be here soon!

Curried Parsnip Soup

4 large parsnips peeled
50g butter
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 good teaspoon curry powder
1 medium potato peeled and sliced
1 litre chicken stock
1 tsp salt (recipe says this, but I don’t use)

Slice parsnips thinly and place in saucepan with butter, onion and garlic.
Cover and cook gently for 15 minutes.
Stir in curry powder and cook for 2 minutes.
Add potato. Stir to coat.
Pour on stock (and salt) and bring to boil 25 minutes.
Blend or process.

Optional: Add coconut milk to this recipe – at the end and blend in with the soup ingredients.
Cream and parsley may also be added.

Lois’ Creamy Corn Soup

5 tbsp butter
Bacon
1 onion finely chopped
3 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 pint of milk
1 can creamed corn
Salt & pepper
Melt butter and cook several rashers of chopped bacon and add the chopped onion – sauté on low heat.
Sprinkle flour and cook for 2 minutes.
Slowly stir in the chicken stock and milk.
Bring to slow boil while stirring.
Add creamed corn, salt & pepper to taste.
Bring slowly to the boil.

Optional: Add a chopped potato to this soup. You may also add ½ cup grated tasty cheese and a bit of parsley at the end.

When to get which vaccination
It can get a bit confusing with all the vaccinations, so we have outlined some of the key information which we hope will help you navigate between your injections (jabs).

How long do I have to wait between the flu vaccine and the Covid-19 vaccine?
You'll need to wait at least:

2 weeks between the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and influenza (flu) vaccine
4 weeks between the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine if you get the MMR vaccine first
2 weeks between the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine if you get the COVID-19 vaccine first.

If you have a COVID-19 vaccination appointment

Get both doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine first
You can get your flu vaccine from 2 weeks after your second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine
If you're 16-30 years old, you may need to get a measles vaccination too. Talk to your doctor or nurse about it.

If you do not have a COVID-19 vaccination appointment yet

Get your flu vaccination first
You can get your COVID-19 vaccination from 2 weeks after this
If you're 16-30 years old, you may need to get a measles vaccination too. Talk to your doctor or nurse about it.

This information has been provided by the Covid19.govt.nz website.

Another useful link with lots of great information is Ministry of Health Website.

Life Changing Careers
Careerforce recently launched a campaign on behalf of many of the sectors we represent, and off the back of funding from the Tertiary Education Commission. Via “Life Changing Careers”, we are promoting career pathways in health and wellbeing, and aiming to bring more diversity into the workforce. This will build greater resilience into the workforce, and ensure a future workforce that is more representative of the people that it is providing care and support for.

This campaign recognises and celebrates the work that many of you do, and we encourage you to stand up and be proud of this essential work, and share this campaign amongst your friends and whānau. Check out the website, and the video stories.

Update on the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF) and Refunds for 2020

In mid-2020, the government released the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF) providing free fees for specific qualifications and training programmes from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2022. The fund also applies to trainees and apprentices who were already enrolled in an eligible TTAF programme and continuing after 1 July 2020

If you enrolled in an eligible TTAF programme from 1 July 2020 onwards, no action is required from you and your fees have been automatically covered by the TTAF.

If you were already enrolled in an eligible TTAF programme and continuing training after 1 July 2020, and paid your own enrolment fees (rather than your employer), you may be entitled to a partial refund of fees. We have identified eligible trainees and apprentices in this category—if this is you, you do not need to do anything or contact us. You can expect to receive an email from our accounts team by 30 June 2021 to notify you of the details and requesting your bank account information. Please note that if you have an outstanding account with Careerforce, any refund amounts will be offset against this.

The email subject will be Refund from Careerforce – Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF).

For further information about the TTAF, including a list of eligible programmes for 2020 and 2021, please see the frequently asked questions.

Q: What to do if you're moving workplaces in the middle of your training programme?
A: Firstly, we hope you are moving to another workplace that supports Careerforce training programmes. If the workplace is not familiar with Careerforce, then we encourage them to contact us at 0800 277 486 and speak with a Workplace Advisor to discuss our qualifications.

If you are changing workplace and are part-way through a qualification, and it is your intention to complete the qualification, you will need to withdraw from the training programme with your current employer, and then re-enrol with your new employer.

However, before withdrawing from your training programme, it is recommended that you contact Careerforce to obtain an updated training progress report. This will show any completed assessments that have been reported with NZQA. If you find there are credits not yet registered, then you will need to follow this up promptly with your workplace assessor or manager.

It is important to ensure that all completed assessments are registered before withdrawing from your training. You may wish to keep copies of your completed assessments for your records if using our paper-based resources.

If you are satisfied all assessments have been reported and wish to end your training, then please inform us by completing this online submission form https://www.careerforce.org.nz/training-agreement-termination/

To re-engage in training with your new workplace, a new training agreement will be required.

Please note if you are enrolling into the same training programme, any completed credits that were previously achieved will automatically be linked to your trainee record and will count towards the completion of your qualification with your new workplace.