From March, EIT will again be offering a suite of micro-credentials targeting professionals in the education, health and wellbeing sectors:

• Whakawhanaungatanga – Rapport 101, Communication for Practitioners and Educators
• Tiakina te Pāharakeke – Working with Whānau and Families
• Hāpaitia te Ora – Supporting Positive Change
• He Mana tō te Tangata – Working with Diverse Populations

EIT’s School of Health and Sport Science plan to launch several other micro-credentials this year in the same field, covering topics such as working with groups, understanding addiction, Ethics and Professionalism, and Interventions for Addiction.

Micro-credentials are bite-sized, stand-alone programmes. Instead of completing a larger qualification, micro-credentials allow people to efficiently broaden their skillset needed for their specific job. Each of the above micro-credentials are delivered through a combination of face-to-face contact sessions and online learning.

“The idea is to offer micro-credentials is in response to our stakeholders’ need for a new style of professional development,” says Assistant Head of School, Kirsten Westwood. “Busy people can now engage in learning in a smaller more manageable way, improving skills such as empathetic listening, goal setting and engaging with whānau. All these skills are highly valued by industry, employers, iwi and the community and add to a person’s competencies.”

Sarah Shanahan, who works at the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, attended the course Hapaitia te Ora – Positive Change last year and got a lot out of it. “I found it really helpful in considering the factors that influence people’s behaviours and frameworks to support positive change both with individuals and with teams. The six-week online structure made it manageable while working full-time. Learning from the others in the group who worked in different fields was a bonus,” she says.

Senior Lecturers Edmond Otis (photo attached) and Chris Malcolm will be teaching on the courses. Both believe that “better connections equals better outcomes. It’s about upskilling people in our community, providing them with the tools and soft skills to better engage with our regions diverse populations, advance their communication, improve relationships and support positive change,” they say.

The first micro-credential, Whakawhanaungatanga – Rapport 101 – Communication for Practitioners and Educators, starts on March 8. Course fees: $ 280 per micro credential.

For more information, contact programme coordinator Patrick Lander at 06 974 8000 ext 5471 or PLander@eit.ac.nz at the School of Health and Sport Science.