We’re proud to celebrate a significant milestone for five members of our team, Jake, Blake, Teresa, Paul and Chris who have officially graduated from Kilmarnock’s Workplace Health & Safety Foundations course, the first cohort of 2025.
Delivered over 12 weeks, the course taught participants practical skills and key competency skills to support safe individual and teamwork practices in a contract manufacturing environment. Through group discussions, self-reflection exercises, and guided walkthroughs of the factory floor, graduates developed a deeper understanding of a range of topics, including risk awareness, hazard identification, and safety procedures.
Beyond the practical skills gained, what truly stood out were the personal transformations shared by our graduates. Many spoke about feeling more confident in themselves, more comfortable speaking up, and proud of the friendships they built along the way. For some, finishing a structured course for the first time showed them that with the right support, they could reach goals they once thought were out of reach.
One team member shared:
“I enjoyed learning new things. I liked getting to know the people in the group. I feel I can do things I couldn’t do before.”
This course is part of Kilmarnock’s Employment Pathway Programme, which provides formal training and physical and mental well-being initiatives during work hours. It plays a vital role in helping people with intellectual disabilities lead purposeful, self-determined lives.
In previous years, Kilmarnock partnered with external education providers to deliver NZQA-accredited training. This year marks an exciting shift as we designed and delivered the Health & Safety course in-house for the first time. The modules were planned in alignment with NZ educational frameworks and shaped by our team’s feedback to be practical, inclusive, and empowering.
“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I feel pretty good about health and safety now.”

A proud moment: Allison cheering on her friend Teresa at graduation.
For many of our team, traditional education hasn’t always been easy. Barriers like literacy and numeracy have made formal learning feel out of reach. That’s why we’re committed to creating training that is truly accessible, hands-on, and built for success.
Using a mix of interactive group learning and independent activities, the course equips our team with job-ready health and safety skills and highly employable competencies like teamwork, communication and self-reflection. The outcomes go far beyond the classroom as they support personal growth, self-belief, and the confidence to step into new opportunities.
At Kilmarnock, education and growth are not a one-off experience, they are a lifelong pathway. Our Employment Pathway Programme brings together meaningful employment, training opportunities and wellbeing support to build lives of dignity and purpose.
Click here to Learn more about the Programme and ways you can support our mission.