New Zealand: Workplace Learning Contributes to Improved Performance

(From voxy.co.nz) -- An independent evaluative report released this week into the Learning Representative Programme shows that workplace learning supported by Learning Representatives (Learning Reps) led to improved individual worker and workplace performance.

Established in 2005, the Learning Representative Programme is managed by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) and funded by the Tertiary Education Commission. Its main purpose is to train workers as Learning Reps to identify, advocate for, and facilitate, workplace learning amongst their peers, with a particular focus on workplace literacy, language and numeracy issues. There are currently 422 registered Learning Reps, employed across 150 workplaces in 94 different organisations across New Zealand.

Heathrose Research Limited was commissioned earlier this year to conduct the evaluation in a joint initiative by NZCTU and Ako Aotearoa - The National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence. The research intent was to determine the effectiveness of the Learning Reps programme, and to assess its value to a range of stakeholders, including the Learning Reps themselves, their co-workers engaged in workplace learning initiatives, employers and unions.

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