We’re thrilled to have secured $630,000 of funding from the Tertiary Education Commission’s COVID-19 Response Projects Fund.

This pūtea will allow us to fund research into how vocational education and training can help our vital and COVID-19 hard hit, manufacturing and engineering sectors to:

• maintain current workforces
• retrain and upskill to ensure workforces are future-proofed for a changing post-COVID environment, especially as access to skilled migrants will be limited.

We’re proud to be partnering with Ngāi Tahu, manufacturing and engineering employers, industry associations, and chambers of commerce on this mahi.

Using an inclusive, mana taurite approach, the research hypothesis, methodology, results, and strategy will be designed in true partnership.

Frequent evaluation and review opportunities will allow the direction of the project to be adjusted where aspirations of Māori and those traditionally underserved by the system would benefit.

The project will provide tangible and iterative benefits to industry and iwi in small bursts as it progresses.

Then, our findings and the lessons learned will be developed into a workforce development strategy with actions and tools to support it that are useful to both industry and iwi.

Along with the clear benefits this will deliver, the funding is a vote of confidence to the Hanga-Aro-Rau tīma – just four months old – that we’re already making a real difference for our industries.

Last but no means least, kia ora rawa atu to everyone who contributed, big or small, to our successful application. We hope you’ll continue with us on this exciting research journey.

To learn more or join those in partnership with us in this mahi, please reach out to our Industry Relationship Manager, Mathew Vandy.