Mother of Seven Becomes Project Manager

Tania Kuka is amazing! I really struggle to express how fantastic this Capital Training graduate is and what she means to society. Tania had moved to Upper Hutt from Tauranga, finding herself bored and lethargic, caring full-time to her seven children. Her motivation and confidence were at an all-time low until her case worker introduced her to the idea of attending a course at Capital Training. This was a big commitment for Tania, as travel between Upper Hutt and Wellington, where the course was held on a regular basis, is no small thing for a mother of seven.

Tania came to Capital Training a shy woman, but she was motivated to get back in to work. This was Tania’s key to success; her motivation, coupled with a willingness to learn and create positive relationships with the Training For Work staff, gave Tania the tools for success.

Tania excelled, there is no other way to put it. She learnt how to become a brilliant communicator, learnt how to read the job market and tailor her CV accordingly and learnt how to set routines and stay motivated. These were all skills that she developed through Capital Training, but we weren’t that major key to her success. That major key was her motivation. Tania’s motivation is what kept her getting up early every morning to catch the train. Her motivation led Tania to create positive relationships with staff and fellow learners. It was Tania’s motivation that got her to give public speaking a go to strengthen her communication skills. It was Tania’s motivation that enabled her to complete her classwork and impress her tutors.

It was Tania’s motivation that got her through what she said was a scary (good scary) interview to get on to the course. It was Tania’s motivation to get a job and be confident in herself that landed her with what I personally think is one of the hardest jobs in the world, emotionally.

Since leaving Capital Training, Tania has become a project manager, who travels around businesses and maraes training executives in how to deal with youth depression and suicides in the workplace. It is a difficult job in terms of the subject matter. Tania works with some heavy topics and helps give executives the emotional and procedural tools to support their younger employees who are having a tough time.

As I was sitting, sipping a hot chocolate listening to Tania talk about her job, my jaw dropped at the realisation of just how far this person had come. From being a full-time mum lacking motivation, Tania now provides others with the tools to save lives. I’m personally very impressed by this as well as very humbled. Capital Training was a part of helping Tania become the force of good in the community that she is now.

Tania started to talk about how Capital Training gave her the confidence, sense of routine and communication skills that it takes to succeed in her workplace. As she was explaining this, I wasn’t buying it. We may have given her all of that, but you don’t just get in to that kind of work without being a naturally kind and caring person. It is people like Tania who I think can be very good role models for the young people in our community. She has gone from a situation where she wasn’t fulfilled intellectually and socially, to a place where she is helping people get the tools to potentially save the life of a colleague. That is inspirational to me.

Tania wants to progress to working with colleges and high-schools in the future. I am sure that if that opportunity arises, she will do an outstanding job of providing teachers and principals with the tools they need to recognize and help students with depression and suicidal thoughts. Thank you for being awesome Tania, you are an inspiration.