With more than 800 staff members, the holistic wellbeing of its people is paramount for the Waikato Institute of Technology (WINTEC).
“We want to engage our staff through a strong safety and wellbeing culture,” says Angela Messam, People & Culture Business Partner. “Joining the accreditation journey through WorkWell holds us accountable to do that."
WINTEC has identified mental health and wellbeing as a priority area. It has introduced initiatives in this area to increase mental health knowledge, reduce stigmatizing attitudes and promote help-seeking behaviour.
The institute offers Mental Health First Aid training to its staff, students and community. Participants learn how to assist someone experiencing mental health distress, developing a mental illness, or going through a mental health crisis. On completion of these two-day workshops, interested staff members can become Mental Health First Aid Responders.
WINTEC now has 42 trained Mental Health First Aid Responders across their campuses. WINTEC has also developed a Prevention of and Response to Family Violence policy. This includes an e-learning module to help staff understand the policy. Twenty staff members have been trained as Family Violence Responders to support staff and students experiencing family violence.
An online learning module for all managers recognises the key role they play in the creation of a positive and safe working environment. The module highlights managers’ roles and responsibilities in preventing bullying and harassment behaviours, and in addressing these behaviours should they arise. Anti-bullying and harassment workshops and online modules are also available for all staff.
