Education increases mana

With over 22 years working for Government agencies, and in that time, 16 years holding several training portfolios , Wellingtonian Ariano (Ari) Tovio was motivated to formalise his knowledge and experience by completing the New Zealand Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching through Open Polytechnic.

Ari came to the realisation that he needed some form of qualification after gaining a job at the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC). “I was a trainer for the Army, Corrections and now currently working for the New Zealand Police as a non-sworn trainer, but I never gained a recognised qualification. Luckily the recruiters acknowledged the training background that I had which was enough for me to be appointed to my current role. But now that I'm here, I've realised I need to take that step further and just formalise my knowledge,” says Ari.

Transferable learnings

Working fulltime as a firearms trainer while undertaking his studies, Ari found that everything he learnt through the certificate clicked immediately and made a huge difference in his development as a trainer.

“What I'm really wrapped about is that the skills that I've learnt, the theories, everything is transferable to what I'm doing at the moment. Because I'm already in a training role, I never struggled to make sense of any of the course materials. I could relate everything that was delivered to what I was currently doing. That stuff was gold, and I believe it has made me a better trainer.”

On learning about facilitation and teaching strategies for diverse learners, Ari says, “This made me have an understanding with some of the learners that I had. Some of them are away from home, living in barracks, so I made sure I created the right environment for them to learn in and took on pastoral care responsibilities.”

“I have learnt the importance of caring for my learners, identifying and respecting their individual needs and privacy, “explains Ari.

Solidifying confidence and knowledge

Completing the New Zealand Certificate in Adult and Tertiary Teaching has given Ari confidence in his abilities as a trainer. “It has solidified that I'm actually doing things the right way,” says Ari.

“I'm really over the moon that I've completed this certificate. It gives me a bit of mana.”

Though already highly respected by his colleagues, Ari felt that through his studies, he has gained the necessary self-belief to become a leader.

“I'm looked upon by my team leaders as one of the senior members of firearms training. And they expect me to stand up a little more and mentor a little more for the new trainers. And the study has actually given me that confidence to be the mentor and to pass on my knowledge to the guys who haven’t yet done that certificate.”

Ari now has the self-assurance to set his eyes on the next goal. “I want to get into a learning advisor or team leader kind of role at the Police College and doing this certificate will actually solidify my CV and make me a stronger candidate.”

Good time management key to success

While Ari has done well in his studies, and received excellent grades, he initially found he wasn’t putting enough time aside to study and fell behind.

“I struggled at first. I kind of let things slip because I was so busy with work and family and then by the sixth week, I realised I was just too far behind.”

After readjusting his workload, Ari began to plan out set study times and create good study habits which set the tone for the rest of his studies.

“I committed my weekends to study. I removed myself from the temptation of playing PlayStation and would leave home and go to the library.”