The Community Technician project is aimed at people with an aptitude for information communication technology (ICT), good interpersonal skills, commitment and a desire to develop a sustainable career providing IT support at a community level.
The 18-month IT training course through Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) comprises a blend of face to face and online delivery. There are five weeks of class room contact time, which is split into blocks, and CPIT tutors and/or lecturers will travel to carry out onsite training and assessment of the technicians in their schools.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) will provide each technician with a laptop computer, a pre-pay mobile phone and other ICT-related tools. The Ministry’s 0800 Help Desk phone number and a third-party technical support provider, ITAS Ltd, will also be available to provide ongoing support and assistance over and above the CPIT coursework. Course fees and other related course costs such as travel and accommodation for classroom contact hours will be paid for by the Ministry of Education.
The host school will provide office space, a land line telephone and an organisational support structure that will enable the technician to work effectively as possible between the schools in the cluster. Expenses such as mileage and a small training salary will be negotiated between the cluster schools and the technician.
In return, technicians must provide a good quality of IT support to the schools. Support is expected to be ongoing beyond the completion of the training course, and the parties may renegotiate pay rates in recognition of the qualification and increased skill level. All Ministry-supplied equipment becomes the property of the technician subject to successful graduation from the programme.
The Community Technicians project will be overseen by Garry Falloon who is the project leader for Digital Opportunities from the Ministry of Education.
