Training

The Federation provides a very comprehensive and up-to-date training programme for budget advisers. The Budget Adviser Introductory Course is a complete, structured training programme delivered by accredited Federation tutors. The course has been developed over a number of years in consultation with the community, experienced advisers, and budget services.

The course has been accepted for recognition on the National Qualifications Framework and covers the NZQA Unit Standard 7974. The Federation is not a registered provider and it cannot accredit Unit Standards. The course meets the standard, however, and budget advisers can apply for recognition of prior learning and use the credits toward the completion of a National Certificate.

The Federation contracts a trained pool of accredited tutors annually to provide all of the training needs for its members. The tutors are systematically appraised to ensure their delivery standards are kept very high. The tutors' own skills are also kept up-to-date through national and regional tutor forums. The Federation's network of tutors are able to provide training in all regions and districts throughout New Zealand. The costs of maintaining this network is completely covered by the Federation.

Federation accredited tutors also deliver ongoing training modules to budget advisers. To ensure the high quality of advice given, there is a policy requirement for budget advisers to keep their skills up-to-date by attending one three hour ongoing training module per year. The modules are developed in-house by the Federation Training Manager and relevant, external training can be recognised to fulfil this policy requirement. This is an undemanding requirement and is the absolute minimum required of advisers to ensure their skills are kept current for the protection of clients.

A brief overview of the Federation's training policy can be viewed here:

Training Policy Overview 2006.pdf

The outline of the Budget Adviser Introductory Course can be viewed here:

Budget Adviser Introductory Course Outline.pdf

© 2007 New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services Inc.