
Contact Centre Opportunity Opens Doors
- Date April 12, 2023
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When Montana Peita left secondary school with no NCEA qualifications, she had no plan; “I made a silly decision to spend a year having fun and experiencing adult life, and being out of school, so I didn’t really take it too seriously.”
That changed when, at age 19, she was still unemployed and realised, “I actually needed to do something about myself.”
She spent some time working as a cleaner, but struggled to gain sustainable employment that could move her ahead; “Unfortunately my CV didn’t have much on it. I had no background experience, and I didn’t have any references.”
“I was on the Jobseeker benefit for quite a long time, and it was becoming really depressing. I was applying for multiple jobs, but wasn’t getting responses. It was quite devastating. I would apply for anything I could find - whether it was more cleaning jobs, or something that was completely new to me, but no luck.”
A meeting with a Case Manager at Work & Income presented a new opportunity; “My Case Manager asked what it was that I was interested in, so she could help get me to that place. I told her that I was unsure. I had no sense of direction and I was just unhappy. I knew I wanted to work with people, I just didn’t know how I might approach it - whether it would be customer service, or maybe in a retirement home, or as a youth worker or a support person. She asked me if I would be interested in doing a contact centre role.”
Montana was invited to join the free Employment Preparation course offered by Capital Training, for positions in contact centres. The four-week programme is funded by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), especially for Work & Income clients. The training includes Customer Service, Conflict Management, Health and Safety, Computer Navigation, and more.
“Once she told me that Capital Training could help with interview preparation and computer skills, I wanted to know more. She told me where it was located, the duration, what I would be doing there. I basically said ‘yes’ as soon as I found out that travel is covered.”
“The way I saw it, my schedule was free. There wasn’t any reason as to why I shouldn’t do the course.”
“When I was at home unemployed, it would make me feel quite upset because I wasn’t doing anything, I was almost just…there. So when this opportunity came up I thought, ‘I’ve just got to take it.’ There was no way around it.”
Montana didn’t have hesitations about joining the course, but the natural first-day nerves were there; “I was scared going into it. I hadn’t done so well in college. I wasn’t sure what the ages of the other people were going to be, or what their backgrounds were. But after meeting the tutors, they made me feel really comfortable and introduced me to some other staff, and some other course attendees that were in the waiting room. It was quite nice getting to see everyone first, before we were all seated in the learning space.’
She was soon able to relax into the Capital Training environment; “That’s when my confidence started to come up. I thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be good. This is a good experience for me. This is a safe space, no one is going to be judging me. We’re all here for the same reason - because we want to gain some skills.’”
“The environment was fun, the tutor’s delivery was fun, and I like that the groups are small, so you can work one-on-one with a tutor if you are struggling.”
“At Capital Training my tutors were there along the way for whenever I needed any kind of support whether it had to do with the course, or other concerns.”
“I would recommend the course to people that are struggling with computer skills as not every one is too tech-savvy, and definitely if you are not feeling most confident about entering a new workforce that is completely different to you.”
Now, at age 23, Montana is developing a career with MSD. She is employed full-time as a Customer Service Representative in the contact centre team, assisting clients that call the Work & Income 0800 helpline. “It’s great experience which can open a lot of opportunities if I am looking at a different avenue a few years down the track.”
Having previously been an MSD client herself, Montana is well placed to support callers; “It helps my approach with the clients, because I do have that experience of having been on a benefit. So I do understand sometimes that if they are angry, they are not angry with me, they are just frustrated with their situation or the systems that are in place. At Capital Training we learned resilience. It taught me how to remain calm and how to address the situation in a professional manner. Prior to joining Capital Training, I hadn’t had a background of being so professional.”
As well, ongoing training and support is in place at her work,“If I am impacted by a sensitive call, my employers are really good and they will ask me what kind of support do I need, before I get
back on the phones again. My employers are very serious about our mental wellbeing. I really appreciate that - that’s a big thing for me. I like working with employers that care about my wellbeing - my mental, and physical health.”
And, financially, there has been a big change. Montana says it was nice to have the assistance of a benefit when she needed it, but now that she is earning, she can save and make plans to move out of home and into her own place; “Being able to get this opportunity to work for Work & Income has opened a lot of doors for me.”
“I feel confident now, about future employment. I’ve made some new connections and I’ve got some pretty solid references that I can put on to my CV.”
“My main goal is to build up my experience and confidence, so I’m able to use the contact centre as a stepping stone for something further within the Ministry. I now have some career options.”
Montana encourages others to be open to opportunities like the contact centre course; “Give it a go because you don’t know what’s going to come out at the other end. Once you get there, you’ll love it.”
“When I was on the benefit, my Grandad always told me, ‘It’s a hard time now, but things will eventually get better. On the days that I would get upset, I would remember what my Grandad said, and it worked: I was on a benefit, and then I came to Capital Training and look what’s happened: things are so much better.”