Hawkins and Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu Establish Partnership

Hawkins Construction and Te Rūnanga O Ngāi Tahu Establish Partnership

An initiative announced today marks the creation of a partnership between Hawkins Construction (South Island) and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu that will foster employment opportunities for local Māori in the Canterbury region.

Prompted by predictions of a labour shortage necessary for the Canterbury recovery, Hawkins and Te Rūnanga entered into discussion in regard to mutual aspirations. The result is Hawkins’ involvement with He Toki ki te Rika (He Toki), a collaborative Māori trade training initiative focused on building Māori capability and leadership within the trades workforce.

He Toki partners are Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the Christchurch Polytech Institute of Technology (CPIT), the Built Environment Training Alliance (BETA) and Te Tapuae o Rehua with support from Te Puni Kōkiri.

Over 200 local Māori have been inducted into the He Toki trade training programme.

Hawkins South Island Regional Manager Quin Henderson says his team wanted to support enthusiastic and capable local Māori enter the workforce and Ngāi Tahu was the obvious partner.

“As well as identifying work opportunities, Hawkins will provide practical learning in the workplace for these trainees to support their work readiness. The benefit of this approach is that together we can widen the potential labour pool for the local construction industry, which can only be good for the regional rebuild,” says Quin.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Mark Solomon says, “We want our people to step up to become leaders in our wider community.

“Partnerships with industry will support more Māori into the workforce and ensure local Māori play an important role in rebuilding Ōtautahi.

“Investing and enhancing the skills of our local Māori will have long-term benefits for this region and Hawkins are to be applauded for their vision and for following through with this offer of support,” he says.

ENDS

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