NZQA National Certificate

Mr B Carruthers, Mrs L Dorrington and Wing Commander G Bendall at the qualification roll-out

The New Zealand Cadet Forces has taken an innovative approach to the challenge of recruiting and, more importantly, retaining young people within the cadet training system.

February 2010 saw the roll out of a NZQA National Certificate in Cadet Forces (Foundation Skills) - Level Two.  This nationally recognised qualification is  available to young people enrolled in Cadet Units and is designed around the existing three year training programmes for each of the three NZCF Corps. Adoption and implementation by Cadet Units will initially be voluntary.

The objective of establishing the qualification is not only to positively influence recruitment and retention but also to reward cadets for the work they undertake during their training and also importantly to enable cadets to gain formal recognition of the learning they are achieving while a member of a Cadet Unit.  Previously this learning went unrecognised by the New Zealand education system.

HQNZCF staff have been working for over five years to get this qualification established and look forward to seeing cadets being rewarded and observing the effects on recruiting and retention statistics.