About Us
LEARNPLUS™ is an innovative and exciting new training provider "without walls". We work with you so you can complete your training and assessments in the way that fits best into your lifestyle.
We've taken our experiences from different countries, different fields and a lot of plain hard work and created learning options that can blend well with the work you currently do.
We are a small, finely tuned team, who are passionate about the personal development of our learners and offer educational excellence rather than packaged blocks of standard training.
Meet the team:
Helen McPhun - Education Director
Known for her creative and energetic style Helen brings her topics to life using an interactive and relaxed style.
Helen has been teaching adult education and management development programmes since 1985 in both New Zealand and Canada.
In addition to a degree in Adult Education Helen, she has studied business management at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and has qualifications in Human Resources and Employment Relations from Queens University in Canada.
To bring credibility to her teaching, rather than just talking the talk, Helen has held management positions including one with American Express in Canada and she has also project managed projects aligned with provincial government initiatives in Ontario, Canada.
She has a proven record of excellence and has taught in polytechs, universities, private schools, corporate offices and on the factory floor! She was previously a lead facilitator for the Ontario Management Development Programme in Owen Sound, Canada and was more recently a successful trainer for IMPACT! Train the Trainer when the Performance Improvement Centre was running in Auckland. She currently delivers the Train the Trainer course for the University of Auckland from time to time as well.
In addition to running the exciting programmes at LEARNPLUS Helen, through her consulting company McZoom Ltd, is an external moderator for the Marine Industry Training Organisation and an evaluator for NZQA.
Helen speaks in New Zealand and internationally on subjects related to adult education and the assessment of learning. Speaking engagemens have included:
- AITD, Melbourne, April 2011. Planning for Success and Proving it Happened - a Learning Alignment Model
- NZATD, May 2010. Learning's Not Optional (but who's accountable)
- Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, Purdue University, Indianapolis, USA. October 2009. Creative ways to assess learning in tertiary education.
- UCOL / E'Fest, Palmerston North, NZ, October 2009. "Motivate, Engage, Assess"
- NZQA, Wellington, NZ, March 2009. Conducting integrated assessments.
- Victoria University, Wellington, NZ, November 2008. Integrating Assessments.
- Canadian Association of Training and Development, Toronto, Canada, October 2008. "On the Job Assess - the New Zealand Experience".
Helen has had work published in the Good Practice 2010 Guide by Ako Aotearoa, Employment Today, NZATD and other small publications.
Helen is currently a member of an NZQA qualification review panel. Click here for more information.
Roger Stephenson - Director, Research and Subject Matter Specialist
Roger was educated in New Zealand and has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Marine, Freshwater and Applied Ecology.
As a subject matter specialist with an industrial and mechanical background Roger is able to draw on his vast background which includes marine related industries, furniture and manufacturing companies, food packaging, processing and export enterprises, building, plumbing, and mechanics initiatives and a multitude of other fields. With his knowledge and experience along with links to most major industries Roger provides LEARNPLUS™ with an avenue to current knowledge, trends and practices where needed.
Other contractors share the passion for delivering great training as needed and include:
Lisa Abernethy - Learning and Development Consultant.
Lisa has amassed considerable experience working in industry training orgranisations where she has worked with diverse industry groups to implement national qualifications and guide the development of training and assessment practices. Lisa is well known as the "go to"person for the qualifications she represented and is highly regarded for her professional and helpful approach.
In addition to qualifications in Adult Education and Vocational Literacy Lisa has successfully completed eight other NZQA qualifications. She knows the NZQA processes from the inside out! Prior to working in the field of adult education Lisa managed contact centre teams to achieve targets and coached and mentored staff.
Lisa provides services to LEARNPLUS aligned with national certificates and diplomas.