Words Of Wisdom From Ian Harper “Wot I want”. Or perhaps some of these.. World peace Equity for all Freedom of speech Elimination of poverty Abolishment.

Words Of WisdomFrom Ian Harper

“Wot I want”

Or perhaps some of these . .

• World peace

• Equity for all

• Freedom of speech

• Elimination of poverty

• Abolishment of cruelty to children

• Abolishment of cruelty to animals

• Abolishment of cruelty to me

But . . As the Rolling Stones said

“You can’t always get what you want”

So, to be more specific

• Wot I want for Supported Employment Agencies and staff

• More specifically still . . in regard to training, development, professionalization and longevity

Wot I want!• I want each staff member to have a “T.N.A. / Skills Register”

and a specific set of strategic training / development goals

• This would be integrated into their performance appraisal

• From the collated training needs, I want agency managers to access relevant programmes or to contract a training consultant to develop specific programmes to suit the needs of their staff

• This would eliminate the situation where an agency relies on external training providers telling them what they need

• I want this to be a multi-organisational approach, so that a group of agencies with similar needs can pool resources

• I want agencies to be able to set a specific training budget for each staff member which also includes a “study-time” allowance

• This would be utilised flexibly in relation to conference, industry specific training, external training and personal development – all would be negotiated and prioritised individually

• I want all organisations in the disability field to have a 3 to 5 year plan to increase the number of their staff that have gained an industry specific qualification

• I want SE practitioners and managers to have the opportunity to have professional supervision / mentoring

• I want Supported Employment practitioners to have an umbrella organisation which will enable them to develop their practice, gain industry specific qualifications and a “career pathway”

• I want SE practitioners to BE the Training programme developers, the trainers/ facilitators, the supervisors/mentors and the assessors of relevant NZQA unit standards.

• Rather than having these essential roles be taken by external people who are not working in the SE field

• I want the SE industry to actively promote “real-leadership” from within

• I don’t think that’s too much to ask for is it?

• After all, its really about being professional, isn’t it?

• I hope all of this happens BEFORE government contracts include these or similar conditions

After all . . . .

It is far better to light one candle . . than to curse the darkness”

SO . . . to those who say:“it can’t be done”I say:“Get out of the way of those who ARE doing it . .”

Cos, as the Rolling Stones go on to say . . .

“If you try real hard, you’ll get what you need”