Work Ready in Wellington Programme

Nicky is the coordinator and teacher of a workplace communication programme for skilled migrants at Victoria University of Wellington. She has over 30 years’ experience teaching ESOL, EAP and teacher training courses. She is a member of the Language in the Workplace Project research team at Victoria University.

Carol has managed a group of EAP counsellors and psychologists for the past 10 years. She has significant experience in working with managers and team leaders around Human Resources and Health and Safety issues in workplaces and through polytechnics. For several years she has had international tertiary students to stay whilst they complete their internship in Wellington.

Tim is a Licensed Immigration Advisor with Pathways to New Zealand which has been established since 1992 and has offices in Wellington and Hamilton. The company has 12 Licensed Immigration Advisors from NZ, UK, China, India and the Philippines and who have over 130 years of immigration-related experience between them. The Pathways team also includes three lawyers, two ex-immigration officers and has fluency in 10 languages.  
  
Tim studied a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science at Victoria University of Wellington. After also completing his immigration studies he became a Licensed Immigration Advisor in 2014 and has now been working in the industry for over 5 years. Tim really enjoys meeting, and getting to know, people from all backgrounds and to especially assisting those people from overseas with their visa requirements to enable them to achieve their New Zealand dreams.  

Nicola has over 12 years’ experience in Recruitment and Relationship Management roles, including leadership and business management.  She loves all aspects of recruitment, whether it be sourcing and selecting scarce talent for a client, or finding a candidate their dream role!  Nicola believes in relationships and keeping recruitment 'human' with a whole lot of conversations. When done well, recruitment can change people’s lives, and Nicola finds it hugely satisfying.  

Lapulou is a Senior Recruitment specialist who looks forward to sharing a wealth of knowledge and experience, covering anything from selection processes, recruitment tools, graduate programmes, internships, and early in career pathways. She is passionate about supporting people to identify their unique strengths and how they can intentionally weave this while moving through a selection process and ultimately careers. 

Aron leads the People and Culture function for Assurity, a NZ founded and owned digital consultancy. With many years experience working in the HR field across both NZ and the UK, Aron is passionate about supporting people to grow professionally and reach their career aspirations. 

As Programmes and Capability Manager, Rena brings a wealth of leadership and education sector experience to Business Central ensuring that our participants have a premium programme and learning experience. Rena’s career in education has included leadership roles in a range of schools, elected governance roles on the Wellington College Board of Trustees and education sector leadership roles at NZQA and national executive subject Associations. 

Hayden joined Business Central in August 2020 as Programmes and Capability Coordinator. Hayden’s role in the Skilled Newcomers programme is to assist the participants in the programme with skills such as creating CV’s and Cover Letters and helping to prepare for job interviews. In addition to this, Hayden will be working with various organisations to help create employment opportunities for the participants of the Skilled Newcomers Programme. 

Sam is a passionate Technical Recruiter who has a real drive for placing the right candidate in the right role. This in turn ensures great outcomes and service for his clients and candidates. He enjoys sourcing hard to fill roles and thrives on a challenge and especially finding candidates that seem to 'not exist'.

Mel is a passionate Career Development Consultant who believes that creativity and outside the box thinking is key to success. She has worked with people from all walks of life - currently working in the Work Connect programme supporting migrants to navigate their career pathways in New Zealand. Mel is a current member of the Career Development Association of New Zealand (CDANZ). She is an accredited Coach with the International Coaching Community (ICC).

Maaike joined Work Connect programme in September 2020. She is an energetic and creative careers professional with expertise in consulting, coaching and employment programme development. Maaike supports her clients to experience positive breakthroughs to succeed in their career journey. Maaike is member of the Career Development Association of New Zealand (CDANZ). She is also an accredited Coach of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).