The Upskilling Partnership Programme (UPP) is a New Zealand government initiative that works with employers to upskill the literacy and numeracy of the workforce.
About Us
Upskilling Research Team
A Department of Labour research team is working with the UPP to evaluate up to 15 of the partnership programmes in order to establish the impact of workplace literacy and numeracy programmes on employees and employers. This evaluation will help to inform further development of workplace learning and further development of government policy.
Dr John Benseman
Dr John Benseman has been involved in adult literacy and learning for over 30 years, mostly as a researcher and evaluator, but also as a teacher and administrator. He has worked in over 150 research projects and written numerous project reports, journal articles, book chapters and monographs as well as co-editing two books on adult literacy and adult education. Before taking up his position as Principal Researcher for the Upskilling project John taught adult education at The University of Auckland for 12 years. Over recent years, John has worked as a specialist advisor and researcher for literacy and numeracy projects for the OECD and UNESCO.
Dr Cathy Wright
Dr Cathy Wright has been working in the education sector for over twenty years. Before moving to New Zealand in 1997, Cathy was a lecturer and consultant at the Open University in the U.K., mainly teaching geography courses and returning-to-study courses for mature students. Since moving to New Zealand, Cathy has taught geography at the Universities of Auckland and Waikato. Subsequently, after gaining ESOL teaching qualifications, she taught in the School of Languages at Unitec for seven years. Cathy has considerable experience as a researcher and evaluator, mainly working on projects relating to education and, most recently, to ESOL teaching and learning. She also has experience of policy-related projects and worked as a policy researcher for Cambridgeshire County Council in England for several years. Cathy has co-authored three series of books for primary and intermediate school students in New Zealand and Australia.
Contact for the Upskilling Partnership Programme
Anne Alkema
Anne.alkema@dol.govt.nz
Ph (04) 915 4409
