Diploma on course to produce leaders

A new diploma at Waiariki Institute of Technology aims to help professionals transition into leadership and mentoring roles.

The Graduate Diploma in Mentoring and Professional Leadership starts this semester and early childhood education head of department Ruth Barnes said interest was already strong from people in leadership roles and those aspiring to them.

"We are very excited about it," she said. "Many people are put into leadership roles, without any real training. Transferring skills is quite different to being able to do it yourself."

She said mentoring and leadership had common themes, but were quite different.

"Mentoring is about how you support and come alongside someone to transfer your experience and knowledge to that person.

"Leadership is the skills you need to gather people together and get them going in the same direction you are going."

The diploma course came about through education and nursing industry requirements for those involved in mentoring trainees in workplaces to have suitable qualifications - having skills is not the same as having the skills to transfer those to who need mentoring.

Initially the diploma will be available only at Waiariki's Mokoia Campus in Rotorua, but Barnes hopes it will later be available by distance learning, because there had been a lot of interest from other centres.

It can be done in one year of full-time study, but Barnes envisages most people will be prefer to complete the eight Level 7 courses across two years part-time around existing jobs.

All classroom sessions have been arranged outside normal office hours for this reason and some courses will also be taught during the summer school.

Five courses are compulsory - professional leadership, legislation in a professional context, professional mentoring and supervision, building and sustaining professional business relationships and practice-based research.

Students can then choose two optional papers from the business and Maori development departments and one elective paper.

Barnes said this was likely to relate to the sector or position of the student.

"It depends on where their interests are," she said.

"If you already have some papers, these may also be able to be cross-credited towards the diploma."

The graduate qualification is open to anyone with a degree or Level 7 diploma and to professionals working in leadership roles.

"The focus is on leadership, professional communications, research and building professional relationships."

Barnes said feedback from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority had been positive.

"The NZQA people said it was innovative as there was nothing else out there that covered such a wide range of professions.

"They could see the potential."