A pioneering approach to workplace education for those with an intellectual disability has been celebrated with a graduation like no other at Ara | Te Pukenga.

The first cohort of Kilmarnock Enterprises-based ākonga (students) to achieve Level 2 credits in Food and Work Safety Practices was awarded their certificates among whānau, friends and their employers as well as leaders in the education and disability sectors.

Kilmarnock Enterprises is an Ōtautahi-based social enterprise creating employment and development pathways for those with intellectual disabilities. Six of their team signed up to two semesters of study through Ara at the start of this year.

The aim of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework study was to ‘develop a series of food and work safety skills that will enable the ākonga to carry out tasks effectively and efficiently within work environments’.

The credits are exactly those required by ākonga working towards foundation studies in the food and hospitality sector - but the content delivery has been specifically tailored.

Ara | Te Pūkenga Director of Disability and Inclusion, John Grant, said the entirely new approach to learning demonstrated the relentless focus on equity at Te Pūkenga by "delivering experiences to our ākonga and employers that recognise their needs and enable their success".

Developed on campus and delivered in the workplace by Ara staff, Grant said "this is ‘my learning my way’ in action".

"Too often we try and slot people into a system that isn’t designed for them and what sets this apart is we’ve designed the system and the processes around the people. We’ve constructed something that fits with the learning needs and style of this cohort so their potential for success is far greater," he added.

Kilmarnock Enterprises Chief Executive Michael Toothill said the qualification was an opportunity to teach his team new aspects of food safety and hygiene while building on skills they’d been developing over many years.

"It comes down to the training approach and the supported learning approach. Ara has a good understanding of how that one-to-one or smaller group delivery is more impactful for people with intellectual disability. There’s a good understanding of how to teach, and how learning is done," Toothill said.

Ryan Marshall, Cookery and Bakery manager within the Ara |Te Pūkenga Hospitality, Business and Service Industries Department, said the course was the culmination of creative thinking and collaboration to ensure the content, necessary approvals, funding and delivery stayed on track.

"There was a lot of red tape but when you work in hospitality there’s plenty of sharp knives to cut through it!" he said tongue-in-cheek. "But seriously, it’s been a privilege to break new ground in experiential learning and it’s given us the confidence to navigate future challenges."

Cookery Tutor David Spice and Disability Learning Advisor Katie Howie worked together to deliver class content and gather assessment material.

"We had to be flexible in our methodologies," Howie said. "Knowing that reading and writing was not the cohort’s preferred style, Dave was good at drawing the information out of our learners in the context of their daily practical work. We used voice recording, photos and video to document learning. At other times I wrote up the learner-led group discussions onto whiteboards which they then noted."

"A lot of the teaching staff might be a bit jealous because we have full attendance and full engagement from everyone," Howie said. "They were always prepared with workbooks set for class."

To wear their own student ID, have prior knowledge recognised and a hold a certificate of achievement are all significant firsts for these working ākonga. But with a second cohort already set to start, Ara | Te Pūkenga simply hopes they’re the first of many to take this step.

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