Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Skills Group

Skills Group, New Zealand’s largest private training provider, is pioneering the future of vocational education by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its teaching and learning processes.

Skills Group Head of Strategic Development Andy Cooper says by leveraging cutting-edge AI technology, Skills Group is enhancing student performance, streamlining administrative tasks, and personalising the learning experience for students across various trades.

“AI tools are transforming how Skills Group creates and delivers vocational training content,” he says.

“These tools assist educators in designing engaging, industry-relevant learning materials tailored to the diverse needs of students. With AI’s ability to analyse large datasets, Skills Group can provide differentiated learning pathways that ensure every student receives the right support at the right time.”

AI also enables the rapid development of resources such as multilingual content and context-specific examples, ensuring materials are accessible and effective for all learners.

Andy says one of the most powerful uses of AI at Skills Group is in personalising learning experiences.

“Adaptive learning systems track individual progress and customise learning pathways to suit the unique needs and learning styles of each student. This helps ensure that learners receive the support they need to overcome challenges and stay on track to achieve success.”

AI’s ability to provide targeted interventions allows Skills Group to proactively address skill gaps, ensuring that no student is left behind in their training journey.

With the rise of online learning, Skills Group is also planning to use AI to create interactive simulations and immersive environments where students can develop practical skills remotely. These AI-powered tools allow students to engage in real-world scenarios, practicing tasks and techniques without the need for physical equipment, all while reinforcing theoretical knowledge. This enhances the hands-on experience that vocational education is known for, even in remote learning settings.

Andy says AI is also playing a crucial role in improving administrative efficiency at Skills Group. Routine tasks such as drafting emails, generating feedback, and creating reports are being automated, freeing up educators to focus more on direct student interaction. By reducing administrative burdens, Skills Group can provide more personalised and meaningful learning experiences.

“AI is helping Skills Group identify areas where students may need additional support. By analysing student performance data, AI provides valuable insights into trends and patterns, enabling tutors to intervene proactively. This helps prevent students from falling behind and ensures they receive the necessary guidance to succeed in their trades.”

Skills Group is committed to empowering its educators with AI tools that enhance teaching and curriculum delivery. AI-assisted lesson planning, resource creation, and learning analytics are just a few examples of how tutors can use technology to create more impactful, tailored learning experiences.

Andy says virtual AI tutors are also being explored as a way of further enriching the learning process by offering academic support to students outside of classroom hours.

As Skills Group continues to integrate AI into its educational practices, the organisation remains dedicated to providing high-quality training that meets the evolving needs of today’s industries.

“AI is not here to replace hands-on skills development, but to complement and enhance it by offering personalised guidance, immersive learning opportunities, and improved administrative efficiency,” Andy says.

“We’re excited to see how AI is transforming vocational education and how it allows us to support our students more effectively.”

Skills Group is continually evaluating and implementing emerging AI technologies with direct applications to vocational education including: neurodiversity-inclusive learning materials; AI for assessment; interactive learning tools; and content development tools.

“AI enables us to create more inclusive, efficient, and personalised learning pathways, ensuring our students are equipped with the skills needed to succeed in their careers.”

About Skills Group

Skills Group is New Zealand’s largest private training establishment, delivering hands-on, real-world education to over 18,000 learners across New Zealand and the world. From school leavers to CEOs, Skills Group supports lifelong learning through practical, industry-aligned training programmes that help people grow their careers, businesses, and communities.

As a trusted partner to government, employers, and educators, Skills Group plays a vital role in shaping New Zealand’s workforce and driving economic growth. Our programmes are built with industry, for industry – ensuring learners gain skills that are relevant, future-focused, and immediately applicable in the workplace.

Whether training the next generation of electricians, upskilling healthcare workers, or supporting leadership development in the boardroom, Skills Group is committed to maximising human potential through lifelong learning.

Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)

Ragne Maxwell 

Porirua College principal Ragne Maxwell has always wanted to work in a school with a strong Pasifika population.

“It is such a strong part of the richness of New Zealand,” she said.

When the principalship for Porirua College came up, Ragne jumped at the chance. “This was my dream school to work at. I wanted to be in the Porirua community, and this was my first-choice school,” she said.

“We have some of the nicest, most respectful, warmest, most open and affectionate kids in New Zealand. I have been teaching for 30 years in school in New Zealand, Britain and France, and none has matched the warmth and whanau feeling,” she said.

“It was really hard during Covid because they had to stop hugging. The kids hug you, the parents hug you, people hug you all the time. We had to stop that because I could see us becoming a huge vector for Covid,” she said.

Out of her comfort zone

Porirua College is Ragne’s first principalship and in the four years she has been at the helm she has already made a lot of changes, both within the school and within herself.

Coming from the position of deputy principal at Kapiti College, a school made up of mostly Pakeha and Māori, Ragne felt she did not have the background with Pasifika students.

When Ragne heard of the Tautai O Le Moana – Strengthening the capability of Principals to improve outcomes for Pasifika Learners pilot, she was a bit nervous about signing up.

“I had done courses on ākonga Māori, but I thought, could I take that on with Pasifika? They are not one homogenous group. We have Cook Island Māori students, Tokelauan, Tuvaluan, Samoan, Fijian. How do I do this?”

She heard a number of principals in her Kāhui Ako Community of Learning were going to do it however, and that’s what drove her to join.

“If they were going to do it then, as a pakeha principal of a largely Pasifika school, I should. The group had a shared interest in what it takes to be leaders in Māori and Pasifika learning, and the majority of them were Pasifika and Māori. I needed to be a part of that,” she said.

Seeing through a Pasifika lens

Participants would meet individually with mentors – for Ragne this was Wellington Facilitator Sose Annandale, principal of Porirua’s Russell School, and national coordinator Auckland’s Target Road School principal Helen Varney – and then meet as a whole group.

“During the group meetings we would share challenges and questions, ideas and what we were actually working on in schools. We talked through shared experiences, sharing stories and unpacking what it is to have a Pasifika lens. It was a very different way of learning from lectures. It brought a Pasifika lens to learning,” she said.

“One of my challenges was leading Pasifika staff and understanding what was appropriate in terms of things like bereavement leave – for example to organise a pastor’s funeral. It was a touchstone for what was appropriate. You could take an issue you had and have a Pasifika lens on it. It was really helpful for me,” she said.

Go in with an open mind and heart

The Tautai O Le Moana project is now being extended (see opposite) and Ragne urges leaders to step out of their comfort zone and take part.

“We are all learning. Go in with an open mind and heart and know that you won’t be judged for your lack of knowledge. They are there to share with you.

“We have 60% Pasifika so the need to know for me was really obvious, but there are other schools out there with a significant Pasifika population.  We have got to step up to the challenge that this opportunity puts in front of us. It would be great to see more Pakeha principals coming into the course. It is learning from people who are leaders in Pasifika schools in a way I can’t be, and I can take that and bring it to my school.

Making the curriculum relevant for Pasifika students

Before Ragne took part in the Tautai O Le Moana project she was already well on the way to changing things at Porirua College.

With a background in curriculum change, that was one of the first things she looked into.

“I found that parts of the New Zealand Curriculum didn’t work very well for our students. It’s a Western curriculum, very focussed on individual success and working as individuals. Group work and assessments are not particularly highly valued, yet group work is more culturally relevant to Pasifika students. We changed our approach to the curriculum to make it more group based and relevant to Pasifika kids,” she said. 

Whare learning

PPTA News was given first-hand experience of the school’s educational vision of VAI (Voice, Action and Identity) during a tour of the school.

“Our students grow their voice to change the way things are and know that learners make a difference based on our multicultural community’s strength,” she said.

Their curriculum covers traditional subjects and also offers students the opportunity to learn in new areas, related to their passions. The classrooms are clustered around four learning houses – Kenepuru, Rangituhi Tangare and Whitireia – and students stay in one house for their whole time at the college.

“It’s like a whanau in a whare. The juniors do all their core subject learning in the whare and the seniors move about the school, but the whare is their home base,” she said.

The senior students are responsible for bringing the younger students into the school. “We are creating a curriculum where the older students are helping the younger ones know what they need for NCEA and also how to grow in their cultural learning.

Ko te Hapori

All students have a Ko te Hapori course for one fifth of their timetable. These courses are across year levels, to develop tuakana/teina (the relationship between an older and a younger person) learning.

 “It involves the whole school, across year levels. We are large, connected, and team-taught. Exploring language and culture together.”

The courses provide opportunities for students to learn about, and within, their cultures, experience learning outside of the classroom and give back to their communities.

Students and whanau contributed to the development of the courses, which cover everything from carving and computer programming to designing and building electric bikes.

Year 12 and 13 students have a ‘Life after school’ option, which organises them into a flatting environment and has them deal with issues such as income and bills. “They experience what it’s like to put the practical puzzle together,” Ragne said.

They are us

The college offers Te reo, Samoan and Māori performing arts as subjects and has an ESOL class for students from Syria, the Pacific and elsewhere who need extra support in learning English.

PPTA News also visited the school’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire? class, where students learn about running their own businesses. There we met They Are Us – a Syrian-Pasifika fusion jewellery company.

Inspired by the support following the March 15 mosque attacks in Christchurch the group produces both paua jewellery and wooden bracelets carved with Arabic.

“We make jewellery inspired by our cultures – Muslim and Pacific Islands, CEO Vaveao Schuster said.

“Everything is handmade and we buy the materials with the money we earn.”

You can find They Are Us on Instagram as @Theyareus.nine

For more detail on Tautai O Le Moana, read our interview with national coordinator Helen Varney: 

What is Tautai O Le Moana? 

Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)

The Tautai ole Moana – Strengthening the capability of Principals to improve outcomes for Pasifika Learners programme is aimed at creating opportunities for Pasifika learners through strengthening their school leadership.

National coordinator Helen Varney says the programme, spearheaded by the New Zealand Pasifika Principals Association, the New Zealand Principals Association and the Ministry of Education, was designed to improve outcomes for Pasifika learners.

“To be able to do that, their leadership has to have a connection with them. What we are trying to do is really around strengthening leadership capabilities in a way that improves outcomes for our Pasifika learners,” she said.

“For whatever reasons, and there are many different ones, Pasifika learners have not fared will. Some have done amazingly well, but the majority haven’t. We want to change that through leadership.”

Uncomfortable conversations

The programme was not about blame, Helen said, rather it was about helping grow principal leaders in our system to support this. “We worked on looking at things, having uncomfortable conversations and uncomfortable recognitions within ourselves. Participants look at who they are, where they’ve come from, why they make the decisions they make and how they as leaders can be sure those decisions address the needs of all.

‘We won’t have cultural competency unless we unpack. There are things we aren’t going to agree with, but as leaders we listen, learn and share ideas for how we can shift that,” she said.

Navigators

The programme sees students tautai – navigators. “We know that the Pasifika people navigated through the South Pacific. Instead of looking at a Pasifika student and thinking that they don’t understand, it’s about looking at them and see that they have come to school in a place that doesn’t look like where they are from.

“They have navigated through different worlds. We need to see the child who comes into school speaking fluent Tongan, rather than one struggling with English. We need to face our own unconscious bias and become more aware,” she said.

The space between

The pilot programme included 10 principals in Auckland and 10 in Wellington. “We work together as a group of leaders who lead very different school communities and staff, but who have very similar questions. We talk about deep things and become more aware.”

When the participants get together they use the talanoa (conversation) process. We are open and honest with each other. We focus on va’a – looking at the space between you and me, getting people to recognise that space is there. To close that space we must share and be open.”

The process grew out of research by Otahuhu Primary principal Jason Swann for the Māori Achievement Collaborative (MAC) principal PLD pathway. “It was about connecting with Māori and each other. Looking closely at how as leaders we do things differently to each other. This is about Pasifika connections and pathways.”

Know your community

Helen says nothing will change unless a school has it in its strategic direction. “If you haven’t got outcomes for Pasifika students in there you are just playing lip service.”

“You need to know your community. It’s about developing a relationship with them, not just sending out information. Listening and talking. There will be times when the community comes to you and times when you will need to go to the community. It has got to be collective and collaborative,” she said.

“To keep this working, we need to get people who really want to make a difference. To look at what has worked for some and change it to work for more. That’s the key to this. People who what to do that will be open to new ways of doing things.”

Being open to change

The Covid-19 pandemic threw up an example of the need to be open to change when some schools, particularly in South Auckland, were having problems with senior students not returning after level 4 lockdown.

Many of their families had experienced job losses and those students had gone to work to support their families, Helen said.

Some schools looked at what they could do to make sure those students’ education wasn’t suspended and changed their opening hours so the students could work school around their jobs. “To keep them connected with the school so that when circumstances change with their families it is easy for them to return,” she said.

A number of schools refused to do this and stuck rigidly to opening hours, but Helen believes we can’t keep working that way. “We have got to learn from what’s happening to keep our students involved and connected with our schools,” she said.

The next phase

Helen was thrilled with the $2.5 million backing by then Associate Minister of Education Jenny Salesa to continue the programme into next year. “It’s just a drop in the bucket, but it’s a great drop. We’re really pleased with it.”

For the second tranche the programme approached schools with a large number of Pacific Island students. The plan is to run it for 20 more schools in 2021 and they have 15 schools signed up already.

“The following year we hope to go up to 40. The MAC is up to 300, but that built up over time. We are doing it slowly and carefully.” 

In the end they would like to use what they are learning to build a framework model for principals, she said.

For a first hand experience of Tautai O Le Moana read: Leadership with a Pasifika lens  

Source: Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA)

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