FAQs

Our Gateway programme is currently being reviewed in preparation for successful programmes in the future. However, we are currently offering work experience placements, please contact schools@competenz.org.nz to discuss.

Gateway is not available for 2025.

Pricing varies depending on your industry and the apprenticeship/traineeship model selected.

Call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz and we can arrange for someone to visit your workplace to discuss your training needs.

The first step is to call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz. We will arrange for someone to visit your workplace to discuss your training needs.

Competenz offers a free digital self-service job board makes it easy to create and post your job advert with our step-by-step job ad builder, helping you reach the right candidates.

• Receive applications: When a candidate applies and grants permission, you will automatically be sent their application and CV.
• Interview  process: If you chose to take them forward to interview you'll have the option to provide feedback to help us maintain candidate quality.
• Onboarding  and training: Once you’ve found the right person, we’ll support you in setting up a training plan to ensure your learner succeeds and meets your business goals.
• Browse available candidates: Need someone now? Check our Candidates page for profiles of learners actively seeking employment.

All customers who have a balance on their account with Competenz at the end of the month will receive a statement detailing any unpaid invoices.

Alternatively, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 and select option 1 for accounts receivable and payable, and one of our Finance team will be happy to help you.

Competenz prefers payment by Direct Credit deposit to our bank account.

When making payment it is important that you include your Competenz Account Number as a reference – this is an eight character number beginning with ‘CC’ and can be found on your invoice or statement.

Our bank account number is also shown on our invoices and statements.

The best way to view the progress of your learner(s) is through Competenz Central.

Competenz Central allows you to see the training plan details of your learner(s) through the tile called eServices.

Click into eServices:

Click on the name of the learner you want more information on:

Click on Training Plan Detail, then click the Unit Standards drop down and change the selection to Show All.

If a unit standard is complete then a date will show in the Date Assessed column.

Please be aware that it can take between 1 – 3 months for unit standard results to be entered into our database.

See the Competenz Central help section for more information about how to access Competenz Central.

This is at your own discretion and is a decision between yourself and your learner.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) oversee our minimum wage. Find out more about the different wage rates on the Employment New Zealand website.

Are you logging in on the correct page?

• Make sure you are logging in to Competenz Central by clicking the link ‘Login Competenz Central’ in the top right-hand corner of this website.

Have you successfully logged in before?

• To login to Competenz Central you need to set up an account. If you have not done this then you will need to request a login for Competenz Central.

Can't remember your username/email?

• If you cannot remember your username/email that you signed up to Competenz Central with, then please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz. We can reset your username.
• If you signed up to Competenz Central using your Google account, then we cannot reset your username/email. What we can do, is unregister your Competenz Central account and resend you a welcome email so that you can recreate your account without using Google.

Can’t remember your password?

• Click the ‘Don’t remember your password?’ link on the Competenz Central login page and make sure you enter the correct email address that you used to set up your account.
• If you have signed up to Competenz Central using your Google account, then we cannot reset your password. What we can do, is unregister your Competenz Central account and resend you a welcome email so that you can recreate your account without using Google.

Still can’t login?

• Please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz.

Receive the welcome email or text message

If you have requested a login for Competenz Central, or your Competenz contact has advised that a login is on its way, then expect a welcome email like this:

If you cannot find the email, please check your junk mailfolder.

Sometimes email filters prevent Competenz emails from being received. If this is the case, our Customer Services Team can send you a text message instead of an email.

Call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz and let us know your name, date of birth, company/employer, and your cell phone number. We will then send you a welcome text message like the below:

‍

Enter your date of birth

Once you click the link sent to you in the email or text message you will then need to enter your date of birth. This helps us check we’ve sent the link to the correct person.

Make sure you enter your date of birth in this format: dd/mm/yyyy

For example:

‍

If your date of birth does not match with the information held in our database, you will need to contact our Customer Services Team.

Create your login details

Once you have entered your date of birth, you can then create your login by entering an email address for your username and a password.

Your password must be at least eight characters long, and contain an uppercase, lowercase and number.

Please send an email to your training advisor or account manager for support.

If you are an assessor, please specify which company or companies you assess at/for so we can make sure we give you visibility of these companies.

We will need to verify your access with your Competenz contact first, so please be aware that your request may take some time.

If you are not a New Zealand citizen, you need a valid visa or work permit. Non domestic students have fees and are not funded.

Your visa or work permit must cover the time it will take to complete your qualification.

For example, if you want to enrol in a qualification that will take six months to complete, then you must have a visa or work permit that is valid for at least six months from the day you start your qualification.

You must also have a job in an industry that we work with.

Either:

• You are employed in New Zealand (for apprenticeships, you must be employed in the industry you wish to complete your apprenticeship in) OR
• You are a self-employed contractor working in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment OR
• For traineeships only - you are volunteering in New Zealand under an  arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment, where the Tertiary Education Commission has granted permission for you to access funded training as a volunteer.

Generally, employers pay the cost of an apprenticeship or traineeship.

To find out how much an apprenticeship or traineeship will cost, please get your employer to call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz and we can arrange for someone to visit your workplace to discuss your training needs.

If you are not a New Zealand citizen then you need a valid visa or work permit.

Your visa or work permit must cover the time it will take to complete your qualification.

For example, if you want to enrol in a qualification that will take six months to complete, then you must have a visa or work permit that is valid for at least six months from the day you start your qualification.

You must be 16 years of age or older to enrol into any Competenz qualifications, unless you have an early leaving exemption certificate from the Ministry of Education.

Apprenticeships are three to four years long.

Traineeships can be anywhere between six and 18 months long.

You're on the right track to becoming an apprentice or trainee with Competenz!

The first thing to do is double-check that you meet the following criteria:

• You are 16 years of age or over (unless you have an early leaving exemption certificate from the Ministry of Education)
• You are employed in New Zealand OR
• You are a self-employed contractor working in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment OR
• For traineeships only, you are volunteering in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment, where the Tertiary Education Commission has granted permission for you to access funded training as a volunteer
• You have a valid form of identity documentation OR
• If you are a non-New Zealand citizen you must have a legal right to reside and work in New Zealand for the anticipated duration of your traineeship. You will need a visa or work permit that confirms this. Please note Non domestic students have fees and are not funded.

If this sounds like you, then the next step is to talk to your employer. Tell them about the training you want to do. They need to be onboard. Being a Competenz learner is a three-way agreement between us (Competenz), you (the learner) and your employer.

Then call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz andwe can arrange for someone to visit your workplace to discuss your training needs.

To do an apprenticeship or traineeship with Competenz, you need to have a job in an industry that we work with.

Either:

• You are employed in New Zealand (for apprenticeships, you must be employed in the industry you wish to complete your apprenticeship in) OR
• You are a self-employed contractor working in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment OR
• For traineeships only - you are volunteering in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment, where the Tertiary Education Commission has granted permission for you to access funded training as a volunteer.

No experience is needed to do an apprenticeship or traineeship. You just need to have a job in an industry that we work with, and have a positive attitude!

To become a trainee, in simple terms you need to; be 16 or older and be legally allowed to work in New Zealand.

Here are some more details:

• You are 16 years of age or over (unless you have an early leaving exemption certificate from the Ministry of Education)
• You are employed in New Zealand OR
• You are a self-employed contractor working in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment OR
• You are volunteering in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment, where the Tertiary Education Commission has granted permission for you to access funded training as a volunteer
• You have a valid form of identity documentation OR
• If you are a non-New Zealand citizen you must have a legal right to reside and work in New Zealand for the anticipated duration of your traineeship. You will need a visa or work permit that confirms this.

To become an apprentice you must be 16 or older, legally allowed to work in New Zealand, and have a job in the industry your apprenticeship is in.

Here are some more details:

• You are 16 years of age or over (unless you have an early leaving exemption certificate from the Ministry of Education)
• You are employed in the industry you wish to complete your apprenticeship in OR
• You are a self-employed contractor working in New Zealand under an arrangement with an organisation in the nature of employment
• You have a valid form of identity documentation OR
• If you are a non-New Zealand citizen you must have a legal right to reside and work in New Zealand for the anticipated duration of your apprenticeship. You will need a visa or work permit that confirms this.

Apprenticeship

An apprenticeship is a pathway to a lifelong career. You learn on-the-job in your workplace, get paid and become qualified for your chosen trade.

Apprenticeships are three to four years long.

Watch the video below to learn more about apprenticeships.

Traineeship

Traineeships are shorter than apprenticeships – typically 6-18 months – and range from entry level to advanced. They are formal arrangements between an employer, learner and Competenz. Traineeships lead to a nationally recognised New Zealand qualification.

Competenz does not offer automotive engineering qualifications. If you are interested in training to be an automotive engineer, please contact MITO: www.mito.org.nz

Competenz does not have a campus - all learning for our qualifications is done on-the-job or with a training provider like a polytechnic.

We have 13 offices nationwide which you can view on our Contact us page.

Competenz partners with employers, apprentices, schools, training providers and assessors across the country to help Kiwis build skills, careers and businesses. We work with more than 3,500 companies and 26,000 learners in 36 industries around New Zealand each year. Most learning takes place on-the-job. Watch the video below to learn more:

Ambassadors are nominated by Competenz account managers and training advisors. Talk to your Competenz contact if you think you would make a great ambassador.

Competenz ambassadors are apprentices and trainees who have been selected to represent their trade because they are passionate about what they do. Ambassadors help us to promote Competenz through school visits, marketing campaigns, media appearances and industry events.

If you’re looking to jump into another qualification, it’s best to first talk to your Competenz contact about what you want to do. They can advise you of the next steps.

You can also find out about all the different industries and qualifications we manage here.

If it’s a level 5 or Diploma qualification that you’re interested in, then check out our FAQ on scholarships.

‍

How much you are paid can vary between the different types of training and different employers. But remember, with an apprenticeship, you earn while you learn - there's no student loan!

Because your employer is investing a lot of time and money into your training, you may be paid a training wage. Find out more about the different wage rates on the Employment New Zealand website.

You should receive four visits per year from your Competenz contact. Visits are usually spaced evenly throughout the year.

Your Competenz contact may advise you while at a current visit of a specific date for the next visit, or they may advise which month they will be back and then contact you closer to the time to arrange a date.

If you are not sure when your Competenz contact will visit you next, please get in touch with them.

If you have access to Competenz Central you can see their mobile number and email address:

Otherwise, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz and we can put you in touch with your Competenz contact.

You will be given a printed certificate by your Competenz contact when you complete your qualification. OR, your certificate will be couriered to your workplace.

We are only able to re-print your certificate if it is LOST or DAMAGED.  If you would like us to reprint your certificate for you, there is a cost of $35+GST.

Please send an email to support@competenz.org.nz.

Let us know the following:

• Your full name
• Your date of birth
• Your NSN number (if you know this)
• The qualification you want the certificate for

Once payment has been received and confirmed we will then courier your certificate to your nominated address.

We can only print certificates for qualifications achieved after August 2012. If you completed your qualification prior to August 2012 you will need to contact NZQA.

‍

When you finish your apprenticeship/traineeship you will be completed in our database once your last unit standard result is entered.

Once this is done you will be given a printed certificate by your Competenz contact. Or, your certificate will be couriered to your workplace.

If you have access to Competenz Central you can see your training plan by logging in to Competenz Central. This will show your ‘To-do’ unit standards and your ‘Achieved’ unit standards.

If you do not have access to Competenz Central you can ask your Competenz contact to run a qualification check to see what unit standards are outstanding to complete your qualification.

Only some unit standards are available online.

Check the Canvas online learning help section for more information and a list of all the online unit standards.

It is best to seek help from your assessor for your unit standard.

Your assessor could be:

• your Competenz contact
• someone contracted by Competenz to do assessing
• a Canvas online learning assessor; or,
• someone  in your workplace.

If you are unsure who will be assessing your work or a particular unit standard, then contact your Competenz contact.

Alternatively, you could try asking a colleague at work for help if they have experience in the unit standard you are working on.

Your assessor should have provided feedback or direction as to where you have gone wrong in your assessment.

In Canvas online learning the assessor should have written a note against the specific question that is wrong. And if your assessment is paper-based then your assessor should have hand-written a note on your assessment which you can see when the assessment is returned to you.

If you have access to Competenz Central you can see your training plan by logging in to Competenz Central. This will show your ‘To-do’ unit standards and your ‘Achieved’ unit standards.

If you do not have access to Competenz Central you can ask your Competenz contact to run a qualification check to see what unit standards are outstanding to complete your qualification.

It can take between 1 – 3 months for unit standard results to be entered into our database. It all depends how quickly your assessor is able to enter your result if they have access to do this, or how quickly we are able to enter the result once the assessor has informed us.

If it has been over 3 months and the result has still not appeared on your training plan and/or your record of achievement then please talk to your Competenz contact.

If you have access to Competenz Central you can see your training plan and your record of achievement by logging in to Competenz Central. Click on the tab Training Plan and Achievement.

Both your training plan and your record of achievement will show you which unit standards you have or have not yet achieved. Though it can take between 1 – 3 months for unit standard results to be entered into our database.

If you do not have access to Competenz Central you can visit the NZQA website and login to NZQA learner log-in to see your record of achievement. OR, talk to your Competenz contact to get a copy of your training plan.

If you still have difficulty, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz. We can send you a copy of your record of achievement.

If you have access to Competenz Central you can see your record of achievement by logging in to Competenz Central. Click on the Achievement tab.

If you do not have access to Competenz Central you can visit the NZQA website and login to the NZQA learner log-in.

If you still have difficulty, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz. We can send you a copy of your record of achievement.

Your Competenz contact should have given you a paper copy of your training plan when you first signed up. If you have lost this copy, talk to your Competenz contact to get a new copy.

If you have access to Competenz Central you can see your training plan by logging in to Competenz Central. This will show your ‘To-do’ unit standards and your ‘Achieved’ unit standards.

You can only do one course per year.

If you need to do more than one course in a year then you will require special dispensation from one of our National Manager. Talk to your Competenz contact if you need to do more than one course in a year.

Block course training providers have 30 days from the last day of the block course to register your unit standards

If your unit standards are not appearing as completed on your record of achievement and it has been over 30 days, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 and ask to speak to our Course Management Team.

Your employer will be sent and email six to eight weeks prior to the start date inviting you to the first available block course for your preferred provider.  If there are none available in your region you will be given options to a provider close to you.

Once your attendance is confirmed, the block course training provider will send you an email with the course information two weeks prior to the block course starting.

You will only be allocated to a block course if you have met the prerequisites. Talk to your Competenz contact about prerequisites if you are unsure.

‍

Supported Browsers:

• Firefox 131 | 132 (Extended Releases are not supported*)
• Edge 129 | 130
• Respondus LockDown Browser (supporting the latest system requirements)
• Safari 17 | 18 (Macintosh only)

Mobile Operating System Native App Support:

iOS

• Safari (default browser with limited Canvas support)
• Chrome

Android

• Chrome (default browser with limited Canvas support)*
• Internet
• Firefox

*Android default browser varies per mobile device.

Operating Systems:

• Windows 7 and newer
• Mac OSX 10.6 and newer
• Linux – chromeOS

Computer Speed and Processor:

• Use a computer 5 years old or newer when possible
• 1GB of RAM
• 2GHz processor

The ‘Welcome to Canvas’ course and user guide can be found by clicking on the ‘Help’ tab in Canvas on the left-hand side.

OR, the user guide may already be loaded to your dashboard.

The Canvas online learning button is located in the top right-hand corner of Competenz Central.

If you cannot see the Canvas online learning button, and are meant to be completing online learning, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz.

Access to Canvas online learning is through Competenz Central.

To login to Competenz Central click the link ‘Login Competenz Central’ in the top right-hand corner of this website.

If you require further assistance, please call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz.

Access to Canvas online learning is through Competenz Central.

To login to Competenz Central click the link ‘Login Competenz Central’ in the top right-hand corner of this website.

Once you are logged in, click the Canvas online learning button.

Canvas online learning is exactly what the name says; it’s our online learning platform!

Instead of completing your learning using paper-based workbooks and assessment guides, you may be able to do this online through Canvas.

Canvas online learning is not available for all unit standards, but we are constantly building more and more unit standards into Canvas.

If a unit standard on your training plan can be completed through Canvas online learning, your Competenz contact should have let you know about this option.

To login to Competenz Central click the link ‘Canvas login’ in the top right-hand corner our website.

Receive the welcome email or text message

If you have requested a login for Competenz Central, or your Competenz contact has advised that a login is on its way, then expect a welcome email like this:

If you cannot find the email, please check your junk mail folder.

Sometimes email filters prevent Competenz emails from being received. If this is the case, our Customer Services Team can send you a text message instead of an email.

Call our Customer Services Team on 0800 526 1800 or email support@competenz.org.nz and let us know your name, date of birth, company/employer, and your cell phone number. We will then send you a welcome text message like the below:

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

Enter your date of birth

Once you click the link sent to you in the email or text message you will then need to enter your date of birth. This helps us check we’ve sent the link to the correct person.

Make sure you enter your date of birth in this format: dd/mm/yyyy

For example:

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍

If your date of birth does not match with the information held in our database, you will need to contact our Customer Services Team.

Create your login details

Once you have entered your date of birth, you can then create your login by entering an email address for your username and a password.

Your password must be at least eight characters long, and contain an uppercase, lowercase and number.

‍

Please send an email to support@competenz.org.nz.

We will need to verify your access with your Competenz contact first, so please be aware that your request may take some time.

Competenz Central is an online platform for learners, employers and assessors to access relevant information to support them on their journey with Competenz.

Learners can access their training plan, record of achievement, Competenz key contact details, and Canvas online learning.

Employers can access training plan and progress details of their learner(s).

Assessors can access all companies they assess at and all training plan and progress details of the learners at these companies. Assessors can also access Canvas online learning if required.