14 December 2017 – With 11 campuses around New Zealand, NZMA is recognised as a leader in vocational education. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) latest External Evaluation and Review (EER) has further reinforced this status by re-confirming NZMA’s Category 1 rating with Highly Confident in Education Performance and a Highly Confident in Capability in Self-Assessment.
This is the highest possible rating that a tertiary provider can achieve and particularly notable for an institution of NZMA’s size and diversity of programmes.
NZQA noted that, “NZMA is clearly meeting and matching the needs of many learners across multiple sites in relation to their personal development and their goals for transition to sustainable employment. Also meriting mention is the care shown around the welfare needs of all students, including internationals: free breakfasts, suitable clothing, transportation in some cases, and helping to find accommodation when students face homelessness. All of these are pressing concerns for many among the NZMA domestic student cohort…NZMA is at a scale and has internal resources and networks among industry and social agencies which very clearly contribute to positive outcomes.”
NZMA Chief Executive Officer, Mark Worsop said, “With our range of programmes, and dedicated teaching staff we are able to match the needs of many students across our campuses, which is reflected in the fact that we have already placed students into over 3,000 employment opportunities this year”.
He continued, “We were particularly pleased that the EER report highlighted our care around the welfare needs of all our students as a priority for us. Our staff are highly committed, and focus on developing our students to be successful both personally and professionally to ensure the best outcomes for them.
“I’m personally very proud of our staff as they go above and beyond to safeguard and support our students on their career paths. Sometimes this can mean dealing with all sorts of issues that students have to deal with in their personal lives, but this reflects the staff commitment to making a meaningful difference.”
NZQA also noted, “Students, whānau, employers and the government gain excellent value from the programmes delivered by NZMA. This value can be summarised as new skills and enhanced personal attributes, qualifications and opportunities to gain programme relevant employment, especially for students who might otherwise have been disengaged.”
With over 30 qualifications from levels 2 – 7 across a range of certificate, diploma and degree courses in hospitality, business, information technology (IT), trades, retail, contact centre, sport, health, pharmacy, early childhood education and floristry, NZMA has a broad appeal.
Also offering free youth guarantee and Maori & Pasifika trades training programmes, NZMA is well positioned to help guide a diverse student demographic ta successful careers.
Mr Worsop added, “The report highlights our commitment to ensuring our students gain the skills to be work-ready, but more importantly, that their employment is sustainable”.
NZMA
We teach real skills for today’s professions. Across seven campuses nationwide we deliver employment-focused vocational training to 3500 students each year in the fields of hospitality, cookery, business, retail, contact centre, trades, sports, early childhood education and health.
For more information www.nzma.ac.nz or 0800 222 116
