As a leading industry training organisation, it is essential that ServiceIQ plays its part in embracing, promoting and demonstrating equity in action. Discover how our Equity team uses data, feedback, and culturally affirming practices to foster achievement and opportunity.

Equity is a critical pillar sitting within the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion framework. While they share many closely linked values, equity comes with its own definition and firm set of characteristics.

“It is essential that everyone shares a common understanding of what Equity means,” says Adele McLean, Workforce Equity Manager, at ServiceIQ. “Equity focuses on providing resources and support to help individuals achieve an equal outcome, taking into account diverse starting points and unique needs. Unlike equality, which is a one-size-fits-all approach, equity addresses systematic barriers and disparities by acknowledging an individual's circumstances, history, and levels of advantage.”

This knowledge underpins the work carried out by our Equity team. By focusing on learners, we can respond more effectively to their specific circumstances. Moreover, by working with the thousands of industry associations, businesses, and individuals upskilling across our programmes, we have access to valuable insights to ensure that our programmes, training and support is relevant and impactful – and embedded in equity principles.

“Our Equity team understands the unique challenges that our trainees and apprentices face, particularly Māori, Pacific Peoples, individuals with disabilities, or other challenges that can impact their learning, as well as those in minority communities,” says Adele.

“Through this understanding and the analysis of achievement data, the team identifies performance trends and gaps for different learner groups. Using the data and feedback from employers, trainees, and our frontline staff, the team develops resources, tools, and culturally affirming practices to close these gaps.”

Our philosophy has always been to provide opportunities for everyone through our work-based learning programmes; easy to access and vocational, with on-the-job training while earning as you learn.

Through our training programmes, equity principles are embedded in building long-term change. We provide opportunities for entry-level career-seekers, mid-level staff and then tomorrow’s managers and supervisors for genuine career progression, to help people not only kick-start a career but to continually upskill to forge a career that can change lives.

Our findings help define our Equity Leaner Success Plans – strategic documents which outline how we support learners' success in work-based learning. Each plan is free and available to download now. It describes our strategies to protect and improve quality delivery, monitor learner experience, apply lessons learned, and details a transition plan which explains ‘specific interventions and how they will be measured to support credit achievement, programme completion and support apprentices.’

A framework of excellence is included in these Plans, focusing on how we; build our Service Sector Advisors’ (SSAs) knowledge and understanding of best practice, ensure first year apprentices and trainees receive the right learning support, provide employers with access to support and awareness, offer information on how apprentices and trainees who experience anxiety and mental distress can receive effective support, and establish a focus on wellbeing.

Our dedicated Equity webpage also includes downloadable resources to find solutions to some of the challenges faced by people on their career journey – and to assist businesses seeking to help their people, including a Dyslexia Questionnaire and Referral Form, advice on how to get free counselling, and access to Māori and Pacific wellbeing support organisations.

Analysing data and feedback helps build a clearer picture around how we can foster a more empathetic approach to learning, provide extra support when needed, improve relationship building between SSAs, workplace assessors, workplace trainees and apprentices, and create a more tailored experience.

Equity at ServiceIQ is more than a soundbite. For us, it’s the difference between getting left behind and pushing through barriers. It’s our commitment to ensuring everyone, no matter their background, has a fair crack at achieving the outcome they deserve.

When businesses integrate equity to their core values, it helps spread the conversation. In our experience, having in place a robust equity policy encourages businesses and other organisations to think about their own equity plans and what they can do to elevate these practices in their workplace.