Industry training organisation (ITO) Careerforce has received the highest possible ratings in its latest NZQA External Evaluation and Review (EER), in a final report just released by NZQA.

All non-university tertiary education organisations (TEOs) are subject to periodic EERs, the purpose of which is to provide an independent judgement of their educational performance and capability in self-assessment.

Careerforce received overall ratings of Highly Confident in both its educational performance, and its capability in self-assessment, having rated as Confident in its previous review in 2013.

The final report found “the organisation has a clear purpose and direction and is well led by a highly effective sector and industry skills-based board and senior management team”.

The report also stated “Careerforce has effective processes that contribute to training outcomes. It is meeting the most important needs of employers, industry, trainees and government agencies.”

The 2017 review included a specific focus on the Certificate in Cleaning (Level 2), and resulting in an overall rating improvement of ‘good’ to ‘excellent’, with the final report noting that the “relevance of the certificate is confirmed by the growth in cleaning trainee numbers – from 129 in 2013 to 914 trainees in 2016.”

Ray Lind Careerforce CEO said: “This report is the result of a huge team effort by staff, with the guidance of a superb board, but also the active support and contribution of our 1100 employer partners, and our 17,000 trainees currently enrolled with us”.

Richard Westlake, Careerforce board chair said: “Careerforce’s growth in recent years reflects the quality of the qualifications being developed by Careerforce, in consultation with key stakeholders, and confirms that we are indeed meeting the needs of our sectors. I congratulate our employers for their commitment to upskilling their workforces to meet the growing needs of the health and wellbeing sectors.”

Careerforce has experienced significant growth since the last review, with an associated increase in Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) funding of 30 per cent, but has also achieved an increased cash contribution from employers, from 27 per cent in 2015 to 37 per cent in 2016.

It expects to experience continued solid growth in trainee volumes, as a result of increasing sector recognition of the value of a more qualified workforce, but also reflecting the huge demand for service workers, with a recent BERL report highlighting a shortfall of 200,000 service workers by 2020.

As a result of the Highly Confident rating, Careerforce will not require a further EER for four years, the maximum possible under the current legislation.