Meet Atarau from our Māori and Pasifika Trades Training programme

Atarau Pouwhare-Ellis (Ngāi Tūhoe and Cook Island whakapapa) is the Kaihautū of The Southern Initiative’s Māori and Pasifika Trades Training. She gives us the low down on the programme.


What is Māori and Pasifika Trades Training?

Māori and Pasifika Trades Training, or MPTT as it’s more commonly known, is a tertiary training initiative for Māori and Pasifika peoples aged between 16 and 40 years.

The courses are designed for people to gain a pre-trades qualification as a precursor to starting employment or an apprenticeship. Most courses are related to construction, infrastructure and the allied trades, but not exclusively. Training courses can be anywhere from six to 52 weeks long depending on the qualification.

Most importantly, the courses don’t have any fees and we also have other resources to manaaki our learners and graduates.

MPTT is a national programme funded by the Tertiary Education Commission and there are 16 MPTT consortia around the country. The Southern Initiative leads one of those consortia (there are two others in Auckland) and we’re the only one led by local government.

All our courses are delivered by private training establishments, including Māori and Pasifika PTEs. In addition to construction, infrastructure and the allied trades, we also have fantastic tech courses as well.

 

Why is The Southern Initiative involved in MPTT?

Some people might wonder what we’re doing in vocational education. As an innovation team with a laser light focus on economic equity, The Southern Initiative’s interest in MPTT is threefold.

Firstly, our active participation in tertiary education gives us first-hand, real-life experience of the pipeline from vocational education to the labour market. It enables us to gather precise insights on what works and what doesn’t, for whom and why. This information directly inputs into our strategic policy and systems change work. Without this first-hand experience, our influence would lack credibility.

Secondly, Māori and Pasifika peoples are overrepresented in construction and infrastructure. The trades can offer great careers and lots of Māori and Pasifika owned businesses are in this sector (check out Amotai). But, for the large part, Māori and Pasifika workers are in the lowest paid positions such as labouring. We’re not going to change this overrepresentation any time soon, so we need to work with it. We can use our MPTT to do things differently such as demand-led training, more micro credentials and targeting higher paying occupations, employers and industries. [link to Amotai’s page]

On the other hand, Māori and Pasifika peoples are grossly underrepresented in tech careers, which tend to be very well paid, which is why we’ve included tech courses.

Most importantly, we have a strong focus on labour market entry, attachment and progression because there is no point in running courses if they don’t make a material difference to people’s economic wellbeing in an enduring way.

And finally, most people probably know that the Auckland Council family is a large buyer of construction and infrastructure works. But we’re also the third largest employer of ICT professionals too. Workforce shortages and poor productivity have a direct impact on our bottom line and ability to deliver for Aucklanders. So, there is some self-interest in ensuring we have a healthy labour market.

As a team focused on innovation, equity and systems change, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved.

Working with Auckland Transport, we were the first in the country to introduce social procurement and that got picked up across the country.

  • We were also the first to make a stand on requiring “quality employment” and introduced a wage strategy, starting at the living wage, with intentional salary progressions linked to achieving productivity milestones.

  • Female participation in our construction and infrastructure courses has always been the highest in the country, up to a third of our learners in some years compared to the national average of just 5%.

Recently we moved to the Amotai team so we can support their 500 Māori and Pasifika businesses here in Tāmaki Makaurau with their recruitment needs and 1,600 across the country. No other Māori and Pasifika business network has its own training arm, and no other Māori and Pasifika training programme is inside a business network – we’ve got supply and demand all in the same package.

 

What has been your career journey so far?

My career started off as a graduate desktop researcher gathering information and insights on the current construction and infrastructure projects that Auckland Council were involved. This temporary position led me to apply to the council’s cadetship programme where I got to understand the wider organisational purpose, values and principles. It was the steppingstone that led me directly into a youth engagement role for The Southern Initiative’s MPTT.

Due to my lived experiences, I have always had a deep passion for young people and supporting them to realise their full potential. My role was to engage rangatahi to understand – from their point of view – what a great career pathway in trades could look like and the long-term aspirations for them and their whānau.

This role enabled me to really understand, at a grass roots level, the barriers whānau experienced in engaging in training, getting a decent job and thriving in work, and how we might co-create solutions together for improved outcomes.

Three years later I moved into a Youth Innovator role which enabled me to use the learnings and experience to ideate different ways to build better futures and create systems change. I was exposed to new environments, and it built my capability in systems change thinking and practices.

My next opportunity was with our Healthy Families team as a Systems Innovator. It was a big change moving from employment to public health but it helped me develop in ways I never knew I needed.

Almost seven years since starting my career at Auckland Council as a desktop researcher, I’ve returned to MPTT and am now the Kaihautū.

 

Tell us about a typical week in your role as Kaihautū

As the consortium lead, my job is to support and enable our partners to deliver the best training, support and opportunities for whānau and ‘aiga to thrive.

A typical week involves lots of planning because, for me, I need to be able to visualise what I need my week to look like; to achieve certain milestones I’ve set for myself.

One week could look really busy in terms of meeting kanohi-ki-te-kanohi with partners and stakeholders etc. and ensuring I’m keeping up with what’s happening, strategically and on the ground, in real time. The next week, I could have a less chaotic schedule where I move online and have complete focus on executing current actions and strategically plan for the coming months.

 

What’s your favourite part of the job?

Working to address the systemic inequities that continue to disadvantage our most under-served communities. Real talk though, it’s being able to wake up with a purpose and know that every day, I’m working to make a meaningful difference for our people.

 

Describe your vision for the future of Māori and Pasifika peoples in the trades?

My vision is to see our Māori and Pasifika whānau thrive and have a future that’s not plagued with intergenerational trauma. I’m working hard to ensure our MPTT offers career pathways to success for whānau and ‘aiga.

For too many Māori and Pasifika peoples, careers in the trades have started and stopped at the low end – poorly paid and physically intensive. My vision is to see our people break through those ‘brick walls’ (pun unintended) and progress into higher paying roles and perhaps even starting their own business.

 

See our Māori and Pasifika Trades Training page for more information including courses available.

Contact Atarau Pouwhare-Ellis, Kaihautū – MPTT