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Recent News:
› Mountain Bike Assessors hit the tracks! - Press Release 4 May 2018
› Developing Assessors for new Mountain Bike qualifications - NZOIA & Skills Active
› The Key to Outdoor Sector Success - by Gillian Wratt (Tourism Business Magazine)
› World-renowned caver breaks new ground near Nelson
Media Release | Australasian Leisure Article | News Hub Article
Mountain Bike Assessors hit the tracks!
These expert mountain bike instructors came together this week to be put through their paces and peer assessed against the New Zealand Certificate in Outdoor Senior Leadership (Level 6) Mountain Bike strand.
They are now starting the assessor process with both Skills Active and NZOIA, and will be assessing trainees who complete the soon-to-be-launched Mountain Bike strand of the Outdoor Leadership Certificate (Level 4 Instructor, Level 5 Guide, Level 5 Instructor, and Level 6 Instructor).
This assessment was jointly facilitated by NZOIA and Skills Active, with technical advice and guidance from the New Zealand Professional Mountain Bike Association (NZPMBA).
The alignment of the NZ Certificate Outdoor Leadership qualifications and the NZOIA awards is highly anticipated by our industries. It will extend the pathways for outdoor recreation people to step up through the ranks and progress their careers.
The suite will eventually have a number of strands, and Mountain Bike is the first off the rank, to be followed shortly afterwards by Cave.
“We have worked closely with NZOIA and other key stakeholders as we developed this qualification, and again are working together to prepare a highly professional and expert group of assessors for our mountain bike trainees,” says Skills Active chief executive Grant Davidson.
“Our joint goal is to build a strong sense of shared understanding between the two organisations, which will deliver quality assessment outcomes.”
NZOIA operations manager Penny Holland said all reports indicated the workshop had been a highly successful event.
“NZOIA is excited to be delivering the new Mountain Biking qualifications and is looking forward to working with Skills Active to provide future roll-outs to industry.”
Mountain bike instructor and guide Ashley Peters is one of the new assessors and also attended the workshops in her capacity as an NZPMBA committee member.
She says the workshop was an amazing opportunity for a group of industry professionals to join forces, share ideas and collaborate, ensuring the new assessors and qualifications will be able to meet the needs of a huge variety of learners.
For NZPMBA, the new qualifications mark one of the first major steps towards mountain biking being recognised as a profession, Burgess said.
“Having a standard means that people know what to expect when they are working with providers.
“And on a personal level, I’m just so excited about people in New Zealand having a qualification that is useful and practical and robust.”
Ends.
Media contact for Skills Active
Esther McLaren
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021 195 5127
Media contact for NZOIA
Penny Holland
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03 5390509
About Skills Active
Skills Active Aotearoa is the industry training organisation (ITO) for sport, recreation, exercise, outdoor recreation and the performing arts. We promote sport and recreation careers by developing world-class, nationally-recognised qualifications, and supporting workplaces to train their staff.
About the New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association
NZOIA is an association, of outdoor instructors and guides, which represents and advocates for their interests across a wide range of outdoor disciplines. NZOIA provides credible, accessible and relevant qualifications for outdoor sector professionals. NZOIA ensures and promotes high standards for outdoor instruction to the New Zealand community.