Study health and wellbeing

Programme highlights

Make a real difference to the health and well-being of the people in your community and get a career in an essential industry.

This health qualification empowers you to learn the skills and knowledge you will need to help people access mental health services.

This entry-level qualification is the best place to start if you want to develop a career supporting the health and well-being of others.

Specialising as a mental health and addiction support worker, this qualification allows you to work alongside people, family and whanau. Learn how to support independence of our people, family and whānau by using relevant teaching tools and strategies to foster hope, support recovery and build resilience.

This qualification includes a minimum of 200 hours of work experience.

_{Please note: Although the Government vaccine mandate for health and disability workers ended on 11:59pm 26 September 2022, some employers can still require workers to be vaccinated due to their responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Placement is a compulsory component of MIT’s healthcare programmes. To go on placement in this sector, students will need to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination to MIT. Students that hold a medical exemption that prevents them from being vaccinated are permitted to work in the healthcare sector, but will have limited placement opportunities in that sector. Students that are not vaccinated, or that do not wish to share their vaccination status with MIT, may not be able to go on placement in the healthcare sector. If you hold a medical exemption, or if you are unable or unwilling to provide proof of vaccination to MIT, your placement opportunities will accordingly be limited and MIT cannot guarantee availability with placement providers.  If this applies to you, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your options.}

See why more people choose health and wellbeing at MIT

"If you’re considering it – just go for it."

“I wanted to be working in a job that made a difference to peoples’ lives in a meaningful way.”

"Make a difference in your community."

“Before studying I was a secondary school student at Rosehill College. I had heard a lot about MIT | Te Pūkenga, and everyone seemed so happy and excited about studying there. After I had enrolled, I went to the orientation which was very informative, and they talked a lot about the support they provide which made me feel relieved to start studying at MIT.

I really enjoy how friendly the people and staff are. The support I get at MIT is really unique and there are multiple different support people you can ask for help from. The work can sometimes be challenging but to overcome this I just email my lecturer questions or anything I need help with, and they make it really clear to understand. I manage to fit in at least an hour of studying a day to keep up with my course so that I can also make time for myself and my family.

Once I finish my programme in health and wellbeing I’m planning to pursue my goal of becoming a psychologist. I’ve had a passion for the health field ever since I was a child. I wanted to become a doctor but as I grew older, I decided I wanted to become a psychologist and I figured that this mental health course would be the best one to help me get started.

If you’re considering it – just go for it. It doesn't take long to apply, and the field is very informative and helpful and influences everyday life.”

Brooke Harper
MIT student

---

"I’ve chosen to study health and wellbeing at MIT as at this stage in my life I wanted to be working in a job that made a difference to peoples’ lives in a meaningful way. After some time to reflect and evaluate what was involved with a healthcare assistant role it felt like a good fit for me.

The programme is delivered at MIT Manukau and it’s a pretty cool campus with wonderful helpful staff. I really enjoy its familiar and family kind of atmosphere. All the students and staff have been so friendly and welcoming.

I really appreciate that as an older student coming into this course it was a little daunting at first, as I had left school at 15 without even school certificate as it was back in those days. So any kind of study was a bit of a learning curve.

I have had some amazingly kind peers in my class who have been kind enough to give me some guiding help with using various technology, tools and apps. MIT also has lots of help available for anyone needing to increase those skills.

My goal is to work in end of life care as a healthcare assistant or in an associated way. When I finish the course, I intend to work in a hospital for 6-12 months to get wide scope of experience and become effective as a HCA. Perhaps while I am working in this role another path might become clear for me in following my ultimate goal of palliative care.”

Duncan
MIT graduate

---

“If making a difference in your community is something you want to achieve then a career in health is a career for you. As a Samoan one of the core values I was taught growing up is tautua which means service. So serving our parents our families our elders and our community. That was one of the main reasons I decided I wanted to study health.”

Tino Tevaga
MIT graduate

---

Entry requirements

Give yourself credit with Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Did you know you can use the knowledge and experience you already have to your advantage?

Your previous work experience and on-the-job skills, volunteering, professional development, and other provider’s qualifications can be recognised as prior learning, matched against credits in our courses, and put towards your qualification – not only saving you money but also helping you to complete your qualification faster Learn more.

Programme structure

Within the first three weeks of commencing your programme, you will need to show evidence of your immunisation status (which will incur a cost) in order to enable you to go out to your practicum placement.

You will need to complete five compulsory courses and four elective courses from your strand (120 credits):

Compulsory courses

Do you want to study a single course, without enrolling into the full programme?

Courses within some of our programmes may be offered as an individual Certificate of Proficiency (COP). Programme entry requirements and course fees apply. For more information, please speak to our friendly Ask Me! team.

Further training or study

The qualification may lead to further study at Level 5, or bachelor's degrees in related health and wellbeing subject areas. It may also lead into leadership and management roles.

• New Zealand Certificate in Public Health and Health Promotion (Level 5)
• Bachelor of Applied Counselling (Level 7)
• Bachelor of Applied Social Work (Level 7)

Career opportunities

Mental health and addiction support worker, and peer support worker. For potential salaries visit careers.govt.nz.