ITENZ Excellence Award 2019 - winners announced

In Auckland last night, a Manawatu hairdressing provider scooped the top prize at the Independent Tertiary Education New Zealand Awards.

BHB Academy, a provider of hairdressing, barbering and beauty, took out the Ako Aotearoa Supreme Award for their exceptional contribution to their learners and their surrounding community. One of their stakeholders said “Sue is a great leader which reflects in her team and students. It is an honour for us to have a wonderful relationship with the Academy”

Six other awards were presented at the ceremony:

• Domestic Student of the Year – Sebastian Baker, Electric Training Compay

• Tutor of the Year Award - Chris Fraser, Pacific Coast Technical Institute

• Support Person of the Year – Eleanor Grant, Electric Training Company

• Provider of the Year Award – BHB Academy

• Leadership Award -LearningWorks

• Innovative Use of Technology - LearningWorks

More about the Award winners:

Ako Aotearoa Supreme Award

The judging panel has conferred the Supreme Award in 2019 on Provider of the Year, BHB Academy.

This award is made in recognition that the category winner has made an outstanding contribution to advancing the best possible outcomes for learners.

BHB’s submission was well supported with references from industry partners and advisers, along with a record of outstanding employment outcomes. They use a range of technologies to enhance learning, have a clear philosophy and strategy for supporting diverse groups of learners and make a unique contribution to their local community organisations. BHB’s excellence is acknowledged by HITO, NZQA and TEC. They display the highest standards of professionalism as well as technical knowledge across a broad range of programmes from Youth Guarantee, Star and Gateway programmes to Level 3 and 4 courses.

Domestic Student of the Year Award - sponsored by SEBDATA

Sebastian Baker from the Electric Training Company (Etco) is awarded Domestic Student of the Year.

Sebastian started a degree in nanotechnology and bioprocess Sciences at Massey University but found he wanted to do something more practical and signed for an Etco apprenticeship. His long-term placement is with the global Nexans New Zealand manufacturing plant, the country’s largest company of electric power cables, and is in Year 3 working at Level 4 of the apprenticeship. Sebastian is an outstanding student who has shown a track record of successful academic achievement, is highly passionate, dedicated and committed to learning under all circumstances. He has real mana among his peers and has a record of leadership both at Etco and his host company. In his spare time Sebastian provides lighting services for the local operatic society.

Nexans says that what makes Sebastian stand out is his attitude. He is resilient and persistent on a job, has excellent people skills and fits in with the team. He is highly regarded for his ability, work ethic and personality. The company is so confident about his capability that he has been progressively given extra roles in preventative maintenance.

Tutor of the Year Award – sponsored by Office Max

Chris Fraser from Pacific Coast Technical Institute (PCTI) is awarded Tutor of the Year.

Chris has a record of highly successful teaching in tertiary education spanning over 15 years with experience in a wide range of roles including industry training in the primary sector, tertiary programme delivery and recently leading PCTI’s ‘bees in school’ programme. He has been largely responsible for PCTI’s expansion into Otago and Southland and is sought out by iconic New Zealand companies to develop and deliver specialised programmes. His ability to engage students, business owners and industry is second to none.

Chris develops and designs all programmes, teaching resources and assessments. He is passionate and cares deeply about student engagement and achievement. He has a unique approach to teaching that is experiential using effective teaching strategies to build students’ confidence and self-esteem, provides a safe environment for practical learning opportunities and drives other tutors to give students nationwide similar opportunities. Students rate him highly and a colleague says, “I will happily stand alongside Chris at any event or class, as I have, and enjoy his passion for what we do.” Chris is also a reflective practitioner collecting evidence from students, staff, stakeholders and industry to makes changes to programmes and improve teaching and learning.

Support Person of the Year Award – sponsored by AdaptIT

Eleanor Grant from the Electrical Training Company (Etco)

We all know that the glue that holds an organisation together is the administrative team. They provide the link between the management, the tutors, the students and industry and at Etco this is no different. Eleanor started at Etco in 1997. She is now the senior regional administrator for Etco at their Dunedin office. Her job description is extensive. Her team covers Blenheim to Bluff. Eleanor looks beyond her role and seeks ways to improve processes, advocate for host companies and trainees and ensure that the best is always delivered.

Her colleagues’ endorsements speak for themselves, “Eleanor is amazing. What we do is massive, with a lot of different strands and complexity. It is very hard to know the full scope of it, but Eleanor does”, “Eleanor is absolutely brilliant. She is the ideal administrative person” and “Eleanor is just exceptional. She is so efficient, so very knowledgeable – I’m not sure what we would do without her.”

Eleanor is the model support person. Loved by her team, passionate about the students, and skilled in administration.

Provider of the Year Award - sponsored by Scarlatti

BHB Academy

BHB Academy’s record of excellence includes being awarded HITO Best Practice Moderation status in Hairdressing and Barbering in 2019. NZQA’s EER report in 2019 deems them a Category 1 provider, with a rating of ‘Excellent’ achieved across all six evaluative questions and in both focus areas.

Support for students of all cultures is demonstrated through a surrogate whanau philosophy which embraces diversity and celebrates cultural festivals.

Students are motivated and encouraged through integrating technology and practical work, and displaying their skills in barbering, beauty and hairdressing through competitions, which the tutors also participate in. Their tagline “Passion and purpose before skill” is integral to their success.

Their strategic leadership has been highlighted over the past year when they needed to diversify in order to be sustainable. They added Barbering, Beauty and Skincare to their approved courses and now have nine schools participating in their Star and Gateway programmes

Community partners include Manline to which they donate the proceeds from coffee sold in the Barbershop, Women’s Refuge which benefits from funds raised from recycling tin foil, Mana o te tangata Trust who benefit from free services, and Jets who also receive free services and in addition BHB is a Game Day sponsor for the team.

In 2017 fourteen barbershops in the Manawatu region were surveyed, and valuable knowledge which has fed into the Strategic Plan was gleaned from their feedback.

Leadership Award – sponsored by Public Trust

Sandra Hutton from LearningWorks is awarded the Leadership Award.

Leadership is defined in many ways. For LearningWorks leadership is about being clear in why they do what they do. They want to make learning work for their learners, their staff and their clients.
Under the leadership of Sandra Hutton, LearningWorks design, develop and deliver quality learning through learning design, learning technology and training. It is clear, that although Sandra leads the team, the values are those of the entire organisation.
The LearningWorks’ way is keeping it real, doing it well and getting it done. This provides space for people to contribute and to excel. They inspire learners to learn and promote excellence and innovation for learners, clients, and staff.

Staff said, “As a workplace people really do care about each other”, “Management are very, very supportive”, “I think the attitude starts at the top and empowers people to feel comfortable”, and when asked what makes you proud of your organisation, one said, “The warm and friendly work atmosphere and the dedication to quality”.

Innovative Use of Technology -sponsored by Booking Rooster

LearningWorks is awarded the Innovative Use of Technology Award.

Technology is an important part of 21st century learning, but if not used properly it can hinder rather than help the learning journey. LearningWorks, the winner of the Innovative Use of Technology Award, has focused on using technology to make learning better. They use an approach that includes flipped classrooms, a learning management system and support and reporting systems that emphasise the learning experience to produce exceptional outcomes. They have improved learner navigation, learner and facilitator support, and learner reporting to weave people and technology into a seamless learning journey.

Students say, “I have totally loved the whole experience and at the same time, gained a skill set that I can use in the future” and “I enjoyed all aspects of the course and the mix of online and face-to-face time was great.” LearningWorks has combined the use of technology and people to facilitate effective learning.

Information about ITENZ

ITENZ is the Independent Tertiary Education New Zealand (ITENZ), a national organisation representing private tertiary institutions in New Zealand. The Association is the largest, covering all areas of tertiary education. It is recognised by the Government and government agencies as the main representative of the sector.

ITENZ is dedicated to uniting the private tertiary education (PTE) sector and representing the collective membership in a competitive and challenging political environment.

Background on the Awards

The Quality Commission (an independent body providing a complaints resolution service for students) runs the annual Independent Tertiary Education New Zealand (ITENZ) Awards. The aim of these prestigious awards is to recognise, encourage and celebrate excellence in independent tertiary organisations. The awards provide opportunities for organisations to showcase what they do best, to share good practice, and for students and staff members to be rewarded for achieving excellence.

The nominations and portfolios for the ITENZ Awards in 2019 have been of an exceptionally high standard. The judging panel has commented on the considerable improvement over the last two years. The 2019 nominations revealed some very talented people and high performing providers in the private sector.

The Supreme Award supported and sponsored by Ako Aotearoa

This prestigious and significant award- was inaugurated in 2017. It is supported and sponsored by Ako Aotearoa and carries a prize of $2,500.

Ako Aotearoa is New Zealand’s national centre for tertiary teaching excellence. The organisation is focused on building educational capability for learner success and supports the tertiary sector to raise the standard of teaching and learning practice, so that all learners can benefit and be successful.

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