Key Findings

The key findings from the project included:

• Over the two years in which the Youth Guarantee programme has been operating at Hair to Train, every student who had completed the qualification, and was therefore tested at the end of the study period, progressed within the step or improved at least one step on the Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Tool. There was a clear trend of improved reading, writing and numeracy competence across the two cohorts.
• The focus of the project was to achieve a high percentage of graduates with a Level 3 outcome, with an institutional target of 80 per centcompletion. This target was achieved in both years of the project. Close monitoring of attendance allowed staff to respond quickly to at-risk students and to reinforce expectations and responsibilities through the strategies described in the publication. These results put Hair to Train in the upper quartile of all Youth Guarantee providers nationwide.
• During the project, NZQA completed the first draft of their review of Hair to Train, in which a specific focus of their external evaluation and review (EER) was the Youth Guarantee programme, the National Certificate in Hairdressing (Salon Support) (Level 3). NZQA reported that they were ‘highly confident’ in both Hair to Train’s educational performance and capability in self-assessment. They also ranked as ‘excellent’ their provision of services in both areas across all six key evaluation questions (how well learners achieve; the value of outcomes; the fit of programmes to learner needs; effectiveness of teaching; how well learners are guided and supported; and institutional governance and management). The report was highly complimentary, noting the organisation’s above-national-average achievements in qualification completion rates and progression towards higher level study.

Key Recommendations

The key principles for success and sustainability identified through this project included:

A strong personal connection between individual tutors and students | Students need to feel that this person, who represents the face of the organisation, is interested in their well-being and cares about their success. This means regular and ongoing conversations about progress, and assisting the student to overcome any barriers that are restricting their ability to achieve. It means knowing the learner, their background, their aspirations, their learning preferences and their passions. Pastoral care is a large part of the package, and is where the tutor “walks the talk” of their commitment to their students.

A learning environment that fosters a sense of ‘family’ | A learning environment that fosters a sense of ‘family’, so that students learn to support one another, to work collaboratively and to develop a team spirit. Not wanting to let classmates down is part of the persistence/completion equation for many.

Setting high expectations and ensuring these are clear to the students | Enforcing standards with fair, transparent and consistent discipline, but remaining flexible and considering each case on an individual basis.

Cultural awareness and inclusivity | Students need to develop their own sense of identity, belonging and pride alongside learning vocational skills, and for many, especially as Youth Guarantee programmes have a high proportion of Māori and Pacific learners, this begins with understanding and valuing their heritage.

Real-world relevance | Students are looking for direction and authentic preparation for the workplace. They value language, literacy and numeracy alongside subject knowledge, and find the learning sticks most readily when contextualised in practical tasks which relate to their field, rather than as a free-standing academic subject – they have tried that approach at school, and it didn’t stick then!

Respecting and growing maturity | Youth Guarantee students are attending from choice: they have left the compulsory secondary school system and are looking for a very different experience. They want to be treated as adults, and although the student-teacher dynamic still exists, they want to be consulted about key aspects of their programme (areas like timetables, re-sits, learning contracts and milestone rewards can all be negotiated), they want their prior knowledge and cultural identity recognised and they want to be independent and autonomous in managing their study.

Development of ‘soft skills’ | Development of ‘soft skills’ such as confidence, professionalism and self-management, as well as embedding opportunities to enhance language, literacy and numeracy proficiency, alongside programme content

Plenty of celebrating! Students who may not have enjoyed a lot of success or recognition in the past thrive on the positive reinforcement that certificates, open days, exhibitions of work, competition entries and graduation events offer. Students enjoy opportunities to represent their institute and be acknowledged as part of the wider organisation’s success.