HIANZ Personal Development Scholarship Program

Inaugaral Scholarship Winner Announced

It is with great pleasure that HIANZ announces its first recipient of the inaugural personal Development scholarship. Joanna Saba of Festival Hire in Masterton has been awarded the scholarship to support her through a NZ Certificate in Digital Marketing. The knowledge and skills learned will be applied into Festival Hire to assist in the promotion of the business and services offered.

This is a great example of HIANZ partnering up with a member company and developing their people. HIANZ CEO Rodney Grant said ” There is a lot of satisfaction in helping people develop personally and it’s great to be able to help member companies attract, grow and retain good people.”

Along with the scholarship award, Joanna is provided with free full registration to HIRECON24 and accommodation, Joanna will present to members and share with us her journey, talking about working at Festival Hire and her process of applying and winning the HIANZ Scholarship Program.

About Joanna Saba

Joanna is a vital member of the Festival Hire Team, perfectly fulfilling her position as the Hire and Sales Coordinator, and recently playing a key role in our marketing and social media presence.

Joanna has been with Festival Hire since February 2021, having previous experience in the event and tourism industry and holds a real passion for events. She compliments the team with her kind and caring personality, her incredible customer service skills and ability to adapt, think quickly and always getting in there to get the job done.

From difficult wedding booking requests to Balloonology creations, website content, cleaning of portable toilets & everything in between, Jo is an employee that you know you don’t get the privilege to call a team member often, she is a true gem!

Shelley from Festival Hire says “Joanna’s current skills and ability have been all self-taught up until now. We are excited to see what she is able to provide the business, the industry and for her bright future with all the added expertise and confidence she will gain from this study.”

About HIANZ Scholarship

The association has a strategic plan that sets a mission to “Advocate, Educate and Empower” our members. The board through its actioning of these strategies identified the need to support member businesses with the attraction and retention of staff. Further, we see the need to develop our people to create skilled and valuable staff and create a career development pathway for them. Some of the members team could go on to being the next hire company owner through succession, buying an existing or starting up a new enterprise. The association wants to support people in Hire through whatever their pathways are.

To complement and expand on the development of our people, the board has agreed to create a scholarship program to assist the next generation as leaders of Hire.

The Board, at its sole discretion, varies the investment amount and quantity of scholarships awarded for any given year, with a maximum of 3 scholarships awarded.

The Association will operate a scholarship fund that has up to $10,000 in it, funded by the surplus from each trading year. The Association is committed to making this amount available each year.

It is anticipated that not every year will the full amount be awarded, and any leftover will be rolled over to the next year and any surplus from the previous trading year will be added to bring it back up to its cap amount. If the Association does not make a surplus, no top-up will be provided for that year.

The success of the program is dependent on members supporting the revenue opportunities of the association. The HIANZ board and staff will work hard to ensure the program has funding each year.

Eligibility

All applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:

Be an employee of a HIANZ Member company.
Been employed in the Hire Industry for a minimum of two (2) years.
Is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.
Be between the ages of 18 and 39.
Have a desire to extend their careers in Hire.
We welcome applicants from all diverse backgrounds and would like to support those who would struggle to get further education.
The applicant must be able to support themselves through the study with any extra costs, time off from work and ancillary costs associated with the proposed study.

To find out more and apply for the 2024 Program, please email HIANZ on office@hianz.net.nz

The 2024 scholarship application opening date is coming up at the beginning of May. Start thinking now about what you could apply for.