Learning solution
“Jackie and Ramon have provided instructional design services to Connexis for multiple projects for several years.
They provide quality work that is completed efficiently, on time and to budget (at times coming in below budget).
They have a great understanding of our industries which translates well to the development of fit for purpose, high quality learning resources and assessment materials.
Their easy-going natures and great communication skills make them very easy to deal with. If you are looking for someone who can take ownership of your project and get it done, RippleEd will meet your needs.”
– Learning Manager, Connexis


Clients
We have worked extensively with two clients:
- The Primary ITO is a work-based training organisation in the food and fibre sector supporting trainees, employers and communities to gain skills, knowledge and capabilities Aotearoa needs now and for the future.
- Connexis is also a work-based training organisation and sets programmes, evaluates assessments, and supports employers and learners to obtain nationally recognised micro-credentials and qualifications through infrastructure apprenticeships.
The Brief
With over 100 work-based training programmes offered across each industry training organisation, there was an urgent requirement to create updated, quality assessment tools and learning resources to support trainees to learn on the job. Quality assessment tools were also required to help assessors and on-job verifiers make sure they’re meeting the standards required by the NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority).
The existing learning materials the client had were either outdated, or there were new standards in place which hadn’t been updated in their resources. For these industries, this meant there was a risk of apprentices not gaining up-to-date skills or acquiring knowledge required for their roles.
The Solution
We supported each client with new assessment tools and learning resources to ensure they reflected changes, passed NZQA pre-moderation requirements and provided innovative learning solutions that were literacy and numeracy friendly.
This involved rolling up our sleeves and going to full lengths to ensure the assessment tools and resources provided were high-quality and would create an impact. We designed a lot of on-the-job scenarios for discussion, realistic activities and embedded critical thinking skills – all while maintaining positive working relationships with the client and subject matter experts.
- We listened and engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders, from subject matter experts to Training Advisors to gather valuable information to create new assessment and learning resources for vocational learners.
- A deep dive into better understanding the needs of the job, the industry and what learners might experience. We travelled to Blenheim to meet viticulturists, training advisors and practised pruning – to truly be in the ‘learner’s shoes’.
Outcome
- Provided assessment tools and learning solutions to the Primary ITO for approximately 40 Unit Standards for the winegrowing, fruit production, aquaculture and dairy-farming industries.
Provided assessment tools and learning solutions to Connexis for approximately 50 Unit Standards for civil, energy, telecommunications, and water.
- For each Unit Standard we provided:
- 1) Assessor Guide (to support the trainer)
- 2) Assessment (for the trainee)
- 3) A 50-page Learner Guide (to support the trainee)
- High-quality resources to ensure excellent outcomes for trainees and employers – involving engagement with industry and ultimately higher trainee completion rates.
- A potential increase in the number of successful trainees completing these programmes across the many food and fibre sectors.
Learning solution
“The Vine to Wine book developed by NZ Winegrowers (NZW) will be an excellent resource for both Agribusiness and Horticultural Science students and teachers to upskill and learn about the viticulture industry.”
Kerry Allen (HATA)
“This fantastic new resource will assist teachers and students to further develop knowledge of the opportunities that exist within the wine industry in New Zealand, and hopefully lead to better transition pathways from school into the workplace, and even further education within the industry”
Sector Manager, Winegrowing, Primary ITO

Clients
This project had a number of stakeholders:
- New Zealand Winegrowers: a national organisation representing the NZ wine industry
- Horticulture and Agriculture Teachers Association (HATA): provides support for teachers with resources, content and conferences.
Brief
To create a comprehensive resource for Horticultural Science and Agribusiness teachers school teachers about the winegrowing industry.
The challenges for the clients included:
- Lack of up-to-date, comprehensive resources about winegrowing for teachers.
- A long-term intent to attract more young people to careers in winegrowing
- Meeting the needs of both urban and rural students in learning about and engaging with winegrowing.
- The breadth of content to be covered in both Horticultural Science (Years 11-13) and Agribusiness (Years 12-13) curriculums.
The Solution
To understand their needs, we surveyed 38 teachers on current practices and their feedback on how to improve their teaching of winegrowing. After identifying teachers to test and pilot the resource, we listened and integrated their feedback.
We co-ordinated with our contacts in the industry and engaged six Subject Matter Experts. These viticulturists, training advisors and wine researchers provided content knowledge and current good practices.
The Outcome
- Vine to Wine: A teaching resource for Years 11 to 13. A free 180-page resource, available online through the NZ Winegrowers website.
- Across New Zealand, regional case studies and scenarios were included to showcase the many different winegrowing regions.
- A section on careers within the industry. This was based on a variety of role models and their pathways into their current roles.
- Seamlessly integrated Years 11-13 New Zealand Horticultural Science Curriculum and the Years 12-13 NZ Agribusiness Curriculum.
Capability development
“Jackie presented this project’s findings at the TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) conference in Stockholm in May 2024, as well as two ConCOVE Tuhara conferences and RippleEd have used the findings to create the course ‘Trainers at Work’.”





Client
ConCOVE Tūhara is a Centre of Vocational Excellence, connecting and aligning industry, learners, and vocational education to support career pathways within the construction and infrastructure sectors.
The brief
Apprentices in the construction and infrastructure industries will spend roughly 70% of their time learning to be a tradesperson alongside a technical expert on-job, and 30% attending courses with an education provider.
Based on our experience training supervisors in the construction and infrastructure industries, we believed there was little recognition of effective work-based training. There also appeared to be a lack of relevant support for technical experts to develop their training skills.
The challenges included:
- The high demand for skilled workers within construction and infrastructure industries.
- The high cost of attracting, training and retaining new employees in the workplace.
- Existing site supervision courses are mainly focused on health and safety and team leadership, not training.
- Existing train the trainer courses often miss the mark for work-based trainers, because they’re targeted at those teaching in classroom environments.
- Historically, apprenticeship completion rates have been significantly low in New Zealand. In 2022, just under 50% of apprentices completed their qualification, despite having five years to complete it in.
The solution
From May 2023 until March 2024, we received funding from ConCOVE Tūhara to carry out research into the ‘how-to’ of recognising and supporting technical experts to become work-based trainers.
Firstly, we had to fully understand the problem and ‘why isn’t it happening already’ before making recommendations. This was completed by carrying out 27 interviews with trainers, apprentices and those in strategic roles (education providers, industry bodies, managers). We completed these interviews with 7 different infrastructure and construction businesses across NZ.
We asked a series of key questions, including:
- What are some key capabilities common across effective work-based trainers?
- What are some examples of effective work-based training?
- How might we recognise and build the capability of workplace trainers? What solutions or tools are relevant?
The results
- A comprehensive, report on our findings (to be published in 2024).
- A simple, easy-to-use framework describing the capabilities of effective work-based trainers. This framework is based upon the voices of those we interviewed, backed up by previous studies into work-based training.
- Recommendations for employers and education providers specialists that will:
- help them to engage the right people to train in the workplace.
- recognise, monitor or reward effective training in the workplace
- identify areas for improvement
- target professional development opportunities or requirements.
- The ‘bones’ of a work-based trainer qualification, micro-credential or programme including:
- possible learning outcomes based on the capabilities in the framework
- links to existing web-based resources relevant to the trades context.
Capability development
“The biggest change has been the managers’ ability to ask their team insightful questions regarding performance and thus allowing the team to own their opportunities for growth and to improve the experience of the learners.”
– CE at LifeCare Consultants



Client
LifeCare Consultants is a Private Training Establishment (PTE) which provides training and health and wellness services across eight regions in New Zealand. As a NZQA Category 1 training provider, LifeCare Consultants is committed to providing excellent training across New Zealand.
The brief
LifeCare Consultants had already created their own staff development competency framework based on their learners and business goals. They recognised the need to value the learning and growth of staff through a coaching culture. LifeCare Consultants had been exploring programmes to increase regional managers’ coaching capability.
Our role
RippleEd delivered a customised, one day workshop for managers of regional training teams to promote productive coaching conversations. Using scenarios relevant to LifeCare Consultants, managers practiced using the GROW coaching model to support measurable and sustainable performance improvements for individuals.
The results
Managers have become familiar with the language and tools for effective coaching conversations. Staff development is on-going, with managers supporting each other regularly on an ad hoc bases as well as a key component of the monthly regional managers meetings. The biggest change has been the managers’ ability to ask their team insightful questions regarding performance and thus allowing the team to own their opportunities for growth and to improve the experience of the learners.