The New Zealand Utilities Advisory Group Incorporated (NZUAG) is a joint consultative group of road and rail owners and/or managers, and utility companies working together to benefit all road users and communities.
NZUAG is responsible for the National Code of Practice which provides the regulations and processes around access corridors which all utility operators must comply with. NZUAG wanted to address levels of compliance, as although compliance with the Code is compulsory, the reality is that compliance is patchy, says James Ting, Road Corridor Manager:
“One of our key objectives is to try to reduce damage out there - and education is what reduces damage.”
Until now, Code training was only available by attending a face-to-face course which while recommended, is optional for those in the sector. Feedback received was that attending a two day course was time consuming and expensive, and so many people didn’t bother.
"We found that there was a desire for training from staff in the sector to ensure they understand what is required from them, but taking time out from work to attend a face to face course wasn’t ideal.”
NZUAG took this feedback onboard and looked at what others were doing to evolve their ways of working. This is where the idea of online training came in, and from there it took off.
NZUAG approached Open Polytechnic and iQualify to see if they could help. Working with Open Polytechnic’s Learning Design and Development team they turned the handbook 'Working Safely on the Road’ into an online resource complete with tasks to test knowledge and a final quiz.
As this course didn’t require facilitation, NZUAG decided to make the most of the automated features iQualify offers, allowing learners to enrol and study at a time and pace that suited them.
Signing up for the course is automated, and learners can start studying straight away. On completion they receive a digital badge in recognition of the skills learned.
“It was really important to us that the oversight required by our team was kept to a minimum while also ensuring the integrity of the course content and assessment. We really needed a set and forget accreditation solution and iQualify gave us this.”
The first course was initially set up as a pilot and is offered to the industry for free until March 2024. 56 learners have already completed the course in the two months since it was launched. Colin Lewis, NZUAG Administrator said that they’ve had good feedback:
“We embedded a survey in the course to capture feedback on the content and online learning experience - so far it’s all been positive and given us the confidence that rolling out a suite of online courses will be beneficial to the industry.”
What does the future hold for online training for NZUAG? Ben Smith, Senior Asset Specialist said:
This is just the start of it. We hope to create a suite of courses covering all aspects of the Code. NZUAG is the driving force behind education for the sector and our aim is to continuously evolve to make the online training even more consumable and accessible.”
If you want to find out more about NZUAG Code training course check out their website or, if you’re looking for an LMS for your organisation why not sign up for a free trial and see if iQualify is right for you.
