Turning Lived Experience Into Workplace Strengths

When Sauaga Falesefulu left school, she had no qualifications, no clear direction, and absolutely no love for computers. “I hated computers. For me, thinking about a computer meant being trapped behind a desk. I found that boring,” she recalls. But she was pragmatic; “I had NCEA nothing. There was no other thing to do but to put myself through further training.”

She took a smart step and enrolled with Capital Training. She managed to achieve NCEA Level 1 and 2, and completed a National Certificate in Business Administration and Computing. That set her up for meaningful employment with a small finance company, helping people to secure their first home. “That was my first job and I loved it. I just loved being able to be of service, and seeing something that I was doing was benefitting someone else.” Her skills also supported a family- owned food retail outlet.

However, when her mother became unwell, she relinquished both roles. “I left everything to look after my Mum. And then Mum passed away. I was lost for many years. I fell into depression after losing my Mum.”

Eventually Sauaga regained employment as a frontline receptionist, administrator and salesperson for a gym franchise - a people-facing role she loved. Call centre work followed, then a move to Samoa to care for an ailing grandparent. A couple of years later she returned to New Zealand to care for her father until he passed away, then life naturally transitioned into full-time motherhood.

In the middle of last year, her family’s financial stability was disrupted. “Times were rough and hard. We managed to survive on the little that we had. But as the weeks went on, I was absolutely struggling because I was having to swallow my pride and call Work & Income for food grants. I decided I had to do something.”

That “something” was a return to Capital Training.

Sauaga joined the four-week Employment Preparation Course delivered by Capital Training at their central Wellington campus. The course is provided free to Work & Income clients and focuses on training for employment in contact centres. The learning components include Customer Service, Conflict Management, Health and Safety, Computer Navigation, and other aspects of contact centre work.

“When I joined the course, I didn’t do it with the expectation that I would find a job. I thought I was not good enough to find a job. In my heart, I didn’t want a job - I wanted a career. I wanted something with substance and progress where I can make my way up a ladder, with potential.”

Sauaga was worried about the gaps in employment history on her CV. “I had been out of the employment environment, without having a proper ‘grown-up-person job’ for so long.”

The team at Capital Training helped her to see that she had been building skills all along — time management, admin, communication — through caring for her parents and managing household tasks. “I didn’t realise until the tutor said, that even though I wasn’t working, there were skills in what I had been doing. When my Dad was a taxi driver, I would help him out with organising his paperwork for ACC, doing IRD forms and insurance forms, things like that. I hadn’t thought of those things as skills that I could put on my CV. My Dad had cancer, so things like administering medicine - there is time management for everything. I didn’t realise that was a quality that would be useful in the workplace was well.”

“The programme helped me to fine tune and bring out my best qualities, and to make my CV something that I could be proud of.”

After completing the contact centre course, she continued with Capital Training to complete the fees-free Computing Level 2 programme, where she gained the New Zealand Certificate in Computing (NZCC2).

“Doing the Computing Level 2 course was like dusting off my cobwebs - awakening skills that were dormant, to light them up and put the burners back on again.”

“The experience at Capital Training exceeded my expectations. I just found Capital Training an awesome environment to be in.”

Now, Sauaga has a full-time role as a Life and Identity Administrator with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), supporting New Zealanders with services for important documentation like passports, marriage and birth certificates. “I absolutely love what I do. I wake up eager to go to work.”

“I’ve got an awesome team leader, and amazing team members. Everyone that I have met so far at the DIA, they just keep adding a bit more sweetness to life.”

Sauaga is learning new processes and will be trained in other roles within the DIA. “That’s why I’m so grateful to be there, because these are the steps that I want.”

“When I start my shift, I start with confidence, and I’m happy. When I finish, I feel satisfied that what I am doing is contributing to a greater outcome. I’m still getting that satisfaction of helping. It’s like a full circle moment for me.”

Sauaga is not only thriving at work but is proud to be a great role model for her daughter. “I want her to see that when things get hard, there’s always a way up. Life is not supposed to be easy. You’ve just got to adapt to the changing times. But don’t be afraid to ask for help. It only takes one step forward. I had my doubts, but had I not taken that proactive choice, I wouldn’t be a Life and Identity Administrator today. I never thought that I would find a job that I love, had I not made that choice to go to Capital Training.”

“I’m feeling good about myself, and I haven’t felt this good in so long. I’m not the person I was a year ago — and that’s something I’m proud of.”

Sauaga says “absolutely” she would recommend Capital Training to others. “It’s a great place, filled with support, friendship, and hope. Everyone there is so supportive. It’s a great learning environment, for anybody and anyone. You get that warm family vibe there. I left with so many friends and we all still keep in contact. We’re always checking in on each other, and we aways encourage each other.”
When asked where she is heading from here, Sauaga says with certainty, “Up, up, up! There’s no turning around.”