MPTT helps Māori and Pasifika become leaders in the trades industry. As well as paying your course fees, we’ll give you one-on-one mentoring to grow your career, and help you find work in your chosen trade.
If you’re Māori or Pasifika and aged 16-40, you could qualify for our scholarships. Let us know you’re interested by filling out this form, and we’ll be in touch.
It was exciting to see some of our latest intake of future tradies gather together this month, after MPTT’s group events had been delayed due to Covid-19.
Check out these photos of Unitec’s Whanaungatanga Day, where new trainees were welcomed to the whānau and awarded their scholarship certificates and MPTT shirts.
I started my electrical apprenticeship with Dickson Gray Electrical, where I focused on commercial and industrial projects, and finished it with Shaolin Electrical. While I enjoyed my time at Dickson Gray, I went to help a friend in his business (Shaolin Electrical) while learning the residential scene of the industry. This had many enjoyable challenges, and I finished my apprenticeship and became a registered sparky this year.
I’ve recently taken on the role of Apprenticeship Coordinator at The Electrical Training Company (ETCO). I originally wanted to travel for a bit after my registration, but this opportunity to work with young people while still being in the industry was an opportunity too good to turn down.
So, the travel plans have been cut shorter (my wife and I took a trip to Europe in December/January). However, I’m loving the opportunity to help other people in the trade. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the hands-on work, but helping others is always where my heart has been.
I want to make more specific goals for health, home, work and life, so that I’m working towards something in every aspect of my life.
The trades is something you can take and do anywhere in the world. So, whatever plans pop up for me and my wife, I know I have a few things in my kitty I can rely on.
Chris is a valued member of our team. He brings a lot of energy and has a great relationship with the youth of today. He comes from a place they’re just entering into. He’s been where they are now, and he’s come out the other side. He can relate to them and inspire them that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
“Chris is a live example of where you can get to. He did his time and he’s enjoying the benefits. He’s just come back from a world trip and that’s been possible for him financially because he got his qualification. If you do the mahi, you get the treats.”
I finished my Furniture and Cabinet Making course at Unitec in 2016. A week later, I landed myself a job at Artiture Joinery on the North Shore and I’ve been here ever since. I managed to finish my apprenticeship in two years and three months, and I got my qualification in August 2019. I have absolutely no regrets getting into a trade and I’ve been lucky enough to have met and worked alongside some awesome and supportive people at my job.
I want to develop my skills some more. There’s always so much more to learn even when you think you’ve learnt it all. I’ve always dreamt of travelling around New Zealand and the world, and next year I definitely want to start. Getting my qualifications sorted was definitely the most important thing for me and, now it’s done, I can focus on spending more time with my family and friends. Taking on a mortgage for a house is also something I want to look at next year.
By going into the trades, I’ve gained a job that lets me work with my hands and challenges me every day.
Each day being a tradie is never the same and it’s never boring. I traded up from a job that pays minimum wage, no matter how much effort you put in it, to a job that pays me well. It gets better with every skill I learn and every effort I put in.
Prior to starting with us, Easter had completed a Furniture & Cabinet Making course at Unitec, which was a great lead into her position with us. It enabled her to progress through her apprenticeship quite quickly. At Artiture, our team and culture is really important to us and Easter has really brought into that.
Commercial shopfitting can be really hard work. We often need to work longer hours than usual and Easter’s the first person to put her hand up and say ‘Yep, I’m here’. I can always count on Easter; she’s incredibly reliable and an important member of our team. She’s fully qualified now and has picked up some great skills along the way.
“I’m really proud of what she’s achieved and, moving forward, her skills will continue to grow. Easter’s career path through joinery can take her anywhere.”
I’m doing my Mechanical Engineering (Level 4) qualification with KiwiRail. I recently finished working with Pacific Steel. At KiwiRail, I’ve had to learn new skills but I thoroughly enjoy and love working with a supportive team of blokes who are able to teach me the ropes and allow me to further my knowledge within this industry.
My goals for 2020 would definitely have to be to smash out the theory side of my apprenticeship by April 2020. Although I’d love to finish my apprenticeship, I still have a few more hours I will need to complete, which may take a year and a bit.
I’ve traded up to a job that is constantly challenging me mentally and physically.
I love challenging myself and proving that I can do what men can do as well.
Being able to have more opportunities and more career choices within a trade qualification is something you’ll always see in the trades.
When Stevi’Lee Furness began learning a trade, life threw her a curveball.
She was a top student in her welding and fabrication course at Unitec, but had to pull out just weeks before the end of the programme because she was 8 ½ months pregnant.
“It was frustrating not being able to finish. At that point, I’d worked so hard, and then it was a full-stop. But I was so glad I did the course anyway. I was happy to be keeping myself busy and applying myself, looking forward to a better future.”
Despite the setback in her training, Stevi’Lee chose to focus on the positives.
“I acknowledged that this was me moving on to the next step, which was motherhood. Going through that awesome part of my life, too. But I still had this drive that my child needs a reliable, dependable mother who can support him. I had to figure out a way to make good money and love my job,” she says.
“Having a baby gave me that extra drive. I was thinking, ‘You’ve got to do this – your child depends on your education and future jobs’.”
After having her son Caezar (now two years old), Stevi’Lee was back in full-time study five months later. Unitec had made changes to its curriculum in the meantime, so her welding and fabrication training was now part of a mechanical engineering course, which she completed in June 2019.
Her MPTT Navigator, Tu Nu’uali’itia, says Stevi’Lee’s motivation to return to study is an inspiration for other trainees who face obstacles.
“Her greatest quality is resilience – the ability to bounce back from a challenge in her journey to achieving her goal. She’s a real inspiration for single mums who are doing it tough, because of the future she wants for herself and her baby.”
When Stevi’Lee first returned to study, she had support from her mum to care for Caezar.
“He stayed with my mum for the days and nights I was studying. It was painful. I spent so much time away from my child. I didn’t have a vehicle yet either, so it was really annoying because I couldn’t pick him up and drop him off.”
It was a struggle to be away from Caezar, she says.
“It sucks to sacrifice that time with him. But at the same time, sometimes you’ve just got to do it. In my position, I’m mum and dad. I’ve got to be the bread-winner and the caregiver.
“I sacrificed so much time with my child, but at the same time, it drove me to keep doing it. Because I can be there for my child but I’m useless if I can’t support him financially in his future. I think I balanced it well, and here I am, finished.”
After having Caezar, Stevi’Lee lived with her mum for the first few months and then moved into her own place.
The 25-year-old is grateful for the support from her mum, which helped her return to study and get her mechanical engineering certificate.
“You do need good support to raise a child while studying or working full time. It just depends how badly you want it. Some mums won’t want to, and that’s okay. It does make a lot of sense having that support – it really helped me.”
As an MPTT trainee, Stevi’Lee also received support through a scholarship and one-on-one mentoring.
“It was honestly so helpful. Plus, it was really cool to go around and say, ‘Guess what? I got a scholarship’,” she says.
Being awarded the scholarship added to her motivation to study and work hard.
“The scholarship isn’t just free money; it’s an incentive because it’s telling you that you’re worth it. Because that’s exactly what it meant to me. Apart from having less of a student loan, a scholarship is something people get from doing really well, and you get picked out of a certain few.
“Being offered that scholarship through MPTT, man, that was awesome. It made me feel really good. Everybody should feel like that.”
The personal support offered by her MPTT Navigator was also valuable.
“I love Tu – he’s awesome. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He’s straight forward. He doesn’t make false promises and he makes it clear that you have to work for it.”
Having finished her pre-trade course, Stevi’Lee has faced another obstacle – not having her own transport.
“I’m looking for a job in mechanical engineering, but I’ve needed a car. I’ve had people like my lecturer say, ‘Look, I can refer you on to an employer, but you need to be able to get all the way out to Mt Wellington’. So, I told myself, I really need a car and there’s no other way around it. So I just went and got a part-time job so I could save up for that. I’ve now bought my car, so progress is coming to fruition in my trades journey.
“Right now I’m working at a local bar, even though I’m not qualified for hospo. But I worked my butt off and proved I can do it. I was quite fortunate to get that job, and it’s close to home. It’s just the next step in putting myself into that mechanical engineering job.
“I would love to do my apprenticeship, and I’m hopeful I can get into project management one day.”
Tu says it’s great to see a young MPTT trainee aiming for a leadership position in the trades.
“It would be a really positive outcome if she did go down that path, because it’s actually leaping forward in her career and showing a lot of ambition. The trades sector needs many more people who believe in their own value and worth to excel and become leaders in the workplace.
“Importantly, our Māori and Pacific people need to see examples of tauira like Stevi’Lee excelling, to be inspired in their own life aspirations.”
Stevi-Lee says it’s important to stay positive when you face setbacks in your training.
“Accept the curve ball. Don’t think that because you’re here right now, you can’t be somewhere else in the future.
“Don’t get disheartened when you come to a road block. It just means you have to figure out a new way around. Where there’s a will there’s a way. You just have to get through whatever the situation is.
“You have to keep looking out for opportunities and don’t give up.”
Flora’s application wowed the judges with her great attitude to life as a woman working in a non-traditional industry and her inspiring goals for the future.
It was noted that Flora’s sense of humour must help her out when things get challenging, one of her responses to what she enjoys about her job is;
“Having the ability to motivate even the laziest lad on site because they don’t like being shown up by a girl. I love hard work that may literally involve getting my hands and clothes dirty and that should be okay. ”
Flora undertook her Level 3 Carpentry qualification at Unitec and was part of the Maori and Pacifica Trades Training Scholarship programme. She loved her time learning the basics as a pre-trader and even attended last year’s Women in Trades event in Auckland where she met her future employer!
Flora is currently working on her Level 4 Carpentry qualification through BCITO as she learns the hands-on aspects of the construction world in her role as an Apprentice Carpenter at Johnstone Construction. Managing Director, Hugh Johnstone, is proud of how quickly Flora has settled into life on the tools and become an invaluable member of the JCL team;
“We searched for 3 years to find a woman to take on an apprenticeship with us and the wait was worth it. Flora has proven that jobs really do have no gender as she has taken her role and run with it, she is always looking for ways to challenge and extend herself. We are so proud that she now has the opportunity to inspire other women to consider a career in trades.”
Flora is not just working toward her carpentry qualification but is also undertaking papers in Construction Management and Engineering, all to help her toward her long-term goal of working on construction projects in the Pacific for the UNDP.
She was described by the judges as;
“…being one to watch, a role model in many aspects of her life and someone who is very grounded but has worked hard and deserves recognition!”
Flora will now work with Speechmarks to craft and develop her speech and public speaking skills so that she can deliver the keynote address at our upcoming event in Auckland.
A big thank you to our wonderful judges:
· Daimler Teves, Trade Marketing Manager at Mitre 10 Trade
· Diana Thomson, Public Speaking Coach at Speechmarks
· Pip Buunk, 2018 Winner of the Mitre 10 Trade Keynote Award and Driller at Fulton Hogan
· Riripeti Reedy, Senior Advisor at Ministry for Women
A group of NZMA students, including MPTT Auckland trainees, went along to a financial literacy course called ‘Trade up your finances’ this month. Created by Sorted and run by Issac Liava’a, National Manager Pacific at Skills, the free weekly workshops covered all the tools trainees need to get on top of their money and plan for the future.
Find out the key tips our trainees learned, and how you can use them to make the most of your money.
Budgeting might sound complicated, but it’s easier than you might think.
The main thing is to know how much money is coming in (your wages), and how much you need to spend. That way, you can make sure there’s enough money for everything you need.
The trick is to work out the difference between what you want and what you need. ‘Needs’ are things you must have to live, like food, power, rent, or a car to get you to work.
‘Wants’ are things you could live without. For example, you might want a new T-shirt. But if you already have enough clothes, it’s not really something you need to spend money on right now – it’s just something you want. So, to get ahead financially, you could save money and wear the clothes you already have.
For 17-year-old carpentry trainee Jackline Lovo, the financial literacy course taught her how to save money for the future by spending less on her wants.
“It’s hard because I just want to be a normal teenager and spend all my money on partying and clothes and going out with friends. But I know one day, it’ll all be worth it if I save money now.
“One thing I do is leave my wallet at home when I go out, so I can’t spend more than I’d planned to spend.”
‘I want to make something of my life’
After dropping out of school at age 16, Jackline Lovo was packing broccolli and potatoes before she decided to learn a trade. “I realised the pay wasn’t good enough. I needed to earn more than minimum wage.”
She chose to learn construction at NZMA for the career options it will give her. “Especially in Auckland, it’s a good job and there’s a lot of opportunities. I want to work my way up and start a business of my own.”
The financial literacy course has inspired her to save money and get her finances sorted. “Coming here, I realised I didn’t know much about money. At the moment I stay with my mum, so I don’t have all the responsibilities of paying bills. So it’s good to do this course now so I’ll know what to do later on.”
Sometimes, things happen that you didn’t see coming. For example, your car could break down or you might lose your job.
To make sure those unexpected expenses don’t wipe out your savings or get you into debt, you need an emergency fund. This is money you’ve set aside to use when something big goes wrong. That way, you can sleep easy knowing you’re prepared.
Kamilo Joe Kaitapu, 19, says he’s now started an emergency fund as a result of taking the financial literacy course.
“I was already pretty good with my money. But I hadn’t thought about opening up an emergency savings account. I knew about saving money, but having emergency savings as well sounds more realistic.”
How much do you need in your emergency fund? Anything is better than nothing. So to start with, just make sure you put some money aside every time you get paid.
As a guide, you can work up to having enough to cover your basic expenses (like your rent or mortgage, food, power and water bill) for three months.
‘Carpentry gives me a secure future’
After leaving school at 16, Kamilo Joe Kaitapu started working in the trades. “I was working with my old man in construction, doing hard labour like being a hammerhand. It was good because I gained a mix of experience.”
To build his skills further and learn about customer service, he took a part-time job doing security at events. At the same time, he started studying construction at NZMA and was glad to have the chance to learn more about money at the financial literacy course. “I was already pretty good with my money, but it’s good to learn more. In my family, we struggled a lot with money and Auckland is expensive, so I try to provide for them as much as I can.” Besides becoming a certified tradie, Kamilo’s future goals include travelling to the USA and saving a house deposit.
If you keep all your money in one bank account, it’s hard to keep track of what you’ve saved and how much you’re spending. So, it’s a good idea to set up a few different bank accounts to organise your money. You can do this for free through online banking.
The accounts you’ll need depend on your goals and situation, but here are some examples:
Carpentry trainee Tevita Latu, 19, says having his savings in a separate account helps him avoid spending it.
“Sometimes when things come up, I think about using my savings. But I have to choose not to use it.”
For Jackline, saving has now become a family effort. With four siblings in Auckland, she has started to teach them what she’s learned about money.
“Since starting this course, I’ve opened a savings account for my whole family, to help them save as well. They give me the money and I keep track of what everyone’s put in. I tell them, you need to own something that you can pass onto the next generation.”
‘You have to choose not to spend what you save’
Growing up in Tonga, Tevita Latu used to watch his uncle build houses. “I thought it was easy. But I found out you need to know how to do maths and be good at communication. It’s actually pretty hard, eh.” After taking the financial literacy course, Tevita is focused on spending on his needs rather than his wants. “I chose to do the course because at home mum and dad always struggled with money and paying the bills.” A priority for Tevita is helping his family out with money. “When it comes to helping my little brother, if he asks for money for school, I always give him some money.”
To stay motivated to save, you need to know what you’re saving for. That’s where goals come in.
For example, a big goal for most trainees in the financial literacy course was to buy a house.
“In my family, we’ve always rented, but my dad’s parents had their own house,” says Kamilo. “For me growing up, my grandparents’ house was a really nice place to be and that’s where I have good memories. That’s how I want my own family to feel about my house.”
Trainees learned how to make their goals ‘SMART’:
By getting clear on exactly what you want and how and when you’ll achieve it, you’re much more likely to put in the effort that’s needed to reach your goal.
So use these tips to make the most of your money and build a great financial future. And if you need help or have a question, remember your MPTT Navigator is here to help you.
Check out this guide to see what support you’ll be getting as an MPTT trainee. How many steps have you completed so far?
Watch the video or view our Kaiārahi (guide) below.
Or download a larger pdf at this link: Student Journey Map
Mark Katterns believes it’s important to dream big. It’s not about just getting a job – it’s about becoming a leader in your industry.
But how? He says the keys are to commit to your mahi and find someone to look up to who can show you the way forward.
“Don’t do what I did and get into a flat with the boys, ‘cos you’ll end up getting into trouble,” he jokes. “You should stay at home with your mum. Live there for as long as possible.”
On a more serious note, Mark (Nga Puhi, Ngati Kawa) says Māori and Pasifika are often natural leaders but trainees need a mentor, like the MPTT navigators, who can guide them towards those leadership roles.
“When Māori and Pasifika get confident in what we do, you can’t stop us. That’s why we were chiefs. We’re a people of leaders.”
Mark, who now directs and manages large projects for construction giant Hawkins, credits his mum as being his first mentor.
As a young teenager growing up in Waitangi, his only career plans were to follow in the footsteps of most people he knew.
“I thought I’d work at the freezing works in Moerewa in the Far North, or end up working in forestry with my uncles and cousins.”
In the meantime, Mark had fallen in with a wayward crowd and was getting up to mischief. But when he turned 15, his mum intervened. She put him on a bus to Auckland to learn a trade through the Māori Affairs Trade Training scheme, in which the MPTT programme has its roots.
“Having a role model is so important. I was the oldest son and my mum saw something in me, so she was my mentor to start with. It’s important to have someone to look up to, because they will show you the way.”
Mentors, such as MPTT’s navigators, help trainees get more confident with finding a job and can show them the way forward when they’re not sure what to do next, says Mark.
“When Māori and Pasifika go for our first job interview, we tend to be a bit whakamā (ashamed or embarrassed). But a mentor will help you through that process and speak up for you. They’ll help you get to that next level when you’re not sure how to move forward.
“We want every MPTT trainee to be a leader and be confident enough to be out there inspiring other youngsters one day.”
Once he got started in the construction industry, Mark found other mentors along the way.
One of those people was Gil Davies, who worked as a project manager at Hawkins. He taught Mark another important key to success – showing up to work on time.
“He used to come around in the morning and wake us up for work. He’d pull us out of bed and take us to the job site because he believed in us. I hooked onto this guy because he could see what I was about. Trainees who commit to showing up to work on time will stand out and be noticed by the leaders,” says Mark.
“To succeed, you need the work ethic. If you’re not on that waka then you might as well not come. You’ve got to be there ready to work at 7am and not looking to finish work early – we leave at 4:30pm, no sooner.”
At age 19, Mark joined Hawkins as a carpenter and began to work his way up.
Marriage and starting a family added to his motivation to succeed, and the company soon recognised his hard work and supported him to take on site management roles.
He has since been involved in projects such as the award-winning Auckland Art Gallery, the Auckland War Memorial Museum atrium, and the $109 million redevelopment of Middlemore Hospital.
But even as a project director who isn’t ‘on the tools’, Mark prefers being on site to working at a computer.
“I love my job because I still get to have that contact with the tradies. Being on site is like being on a marae because it’s a big collection of people – a team working together to build something.”
Mark says what drives him now is a passion to be a mentor for the current generation of Māori and Pasifika tradies.
He helped spearhead a mentoring programme for Māori and Pasifika at Hawkins, which provides opportunities for career development and learning new skills.
“Once you’re hooked into a trade, we get you a mentor. That’s what I needed when I was young. At Hawkins, we call those mentors ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’.”
So far, Hawkins has taken on 78 Māori and Pasifika trainees. Of those, 45% are from the MPTT programme and 17% are women – a relatively high percentage in the traditionally male-dominated industry.
For Mark, the mentoring programme is a way to give back and pass on some of the opportunities he received when he got started in the trades.
“I didn’t get here because of myself,” says Mark. “If I didn’t have a mentor, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
After these discussions, we created a written response to the government’s plans, outlining our collective views and recommendations. As a consortium, we agree there is a need for reform. However, we don’t support all the details of the current proposal and we have emphasised the need for close consultation with Māori and Pacific communities. Please read our full submission below.
RoVE submission – Māori and Pasifika Trades Training: Auckland
Together we’ve helped more than 2300 Māori and Pasifika Aucklanders start their trades careers – but we can’t stop now. As you know there’s an urgent need for more qualified tradespeople, with a shortage of 30,000 skilled employees in New Zealand’s building and construction industry alone.
To help get the message out about our scholarships, we have created a press release supported by a social media campaign and video. We encourage you to share these with your audience and networks.
You can find our press release here.
By Alan Apted, Stuff/Manukau Courier
Eruera, 22, is the only female in a group of 16 apprentices at the Manukau Institute of Technology’s School of Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying and she is loving it.
“In my mind, plumbing was all about toilets. But I’ve since discovered it’s a lot more than that.”
“I love everything the trade offers, especially the variety.”
“There is gas fitting, the welding, working with sheet metal, working on roofs, drainlaying, working with hot and cold water systems. I have a far better understanding of what’s involved now and I love it.”
The former Māngere College student says it was her tutor and welder with 30 years experience John McDonald who opened her eyes to the world of plumbing and the financial security that qualified plumbers enjoy.
Industry figures show that newly qualified plumbers earn around $50,000 a year. Experienced, certifying plumbers can earn more than $75,000 while experienced self-employed plumbers earn between $80,000 and $100,000 a year or even more.
New Zealand needs around 60,000 tradespeople over the next five years, according to Master Plumbers. It says there is a major shortage of skilled plumbers, especially in Auckland.
“The plumbing workforce needs to grow by nearly 40% by 2021 to keep up with current demand,” Master Plumbers’ chief executive Greg Wallace said. “The current shortage of plumbers means that the career prospects for all plumbers are excellent.”
“Plumbers are in high demand, and there is a certain level of job security which other career paths cannot offer.”
Women like Eruera is what Women in Trades NZ is after. They have had more than 100 women including 77 school girls attended an open day in Auckland recently.
“Women represent less than 3% of tradespeople so there is a big opportunity to increase the workforce through diversifying the traditionally male dominated trades role. However, research and feedback from employers has found that despite the active targeting of women through female specific scholarships and apprentice awards there is limited uptake,” a spokeswoman said.
For Eruera, who is training under a scholarship from Māori and Pasifika Trades Training: Auckland, she will be breaking through other obstacles.
“I will be the first tradie in my family,” she vows.
“I’m a CYFs (Child, Youth and Family) child, given up when I was young – although I was reunited with my mum and dad later in life. We depended on welfare and there was lots of alcohol and drugs.”
She says the things that matter most to her now are financial security and being a good example to her children.
“I also know that once I qualify I’ll never be unemployed,” Eruera said.
“My tutor John McDonald convinced me of this. It’s why I’m here.”
“I see myself owning my own business one day, even becoming a tutor like John. It will be a way of giving back.”
* This article was originally published in the Manukau Courier and on stuff.co.nz
A few years ago, Sherya Hetarata’s life looked good from the outside. She had a great job at Griffins Foods, having worked her way up from packer to second-in-command. She was managing a crew of more than 20 people – despite being one of the youngest on the team.
In reality, she was going through the hardest time of her life. Her father had passed away, meaning Sherya lost her best friend and her strongest source of support at the same time.
Although it was difficult, she eventually sought help by talking to her bosses at Griffins.
“It took me a while, but I opened up with my bosses and they were the ones who helped me into seeing a counsellor. Because I got that help and support, I didn’t need to take time off work.”
After seeking help, Sherya was diagnosed with depression and started taking antidepressants. She also had fortnightly visits with her doctor and a counsellor for nearly a year.
“I got peace of mind from the counselling,” she says.
“I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like putting my struggles onto family or friends, because I’m the one who they all come to with their problems. My dad was the only person I went to about everything. So once he had passed it got real difficult.
“But talking about it with a counsellor was a lot easier. I knew they didn’t know me at all, so I felt like they couldn’t judge me.”
Mental health challenges are common in New Zealand, with nearly half of Kiwis experiencing a mental health problem in their lifetime.
If you’re having a difficult time like Sherya was, the most important step is to ask for help.
“Talk about it. It gets easier. Focus on yourself instead of trying to make other people happy. That’s where I think I was depressed quite a bit, because I was too worried about how to fix everyone else’s problems and not my own. Talking about it helps heaps, plus doing something you enjoy.”
If you’re going through a hard time, it’s important to seek help and remember you’re not alone.
“At times it might seem hard and you might think you can’t do it,” says Sherya. “But don’t be shy to ask for help because everyone needs help sometimes.”
While Sherya was working on her mental health, she was also thinking about a career change.
“I had a good job but it wasn’t something I could see myself doing for another 10 years. I started thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in my life and how I could make my dad proud.”
Sherya, whose iwi is Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahu, took time to think the decision through and spoke to her boss about the potential career change.
“I was stuck between engineering and social work. I’ve always wanted to help others, especially kids – mainly troubled youth with very tough backgrounds. I wanted them to know that someone cares and that things aren’t always gonna be hard.
“So I sat down with my boss. His wife was a social worker so they had done a lot of youth activities, youth camps and helping out the homeless. He explained that it’s one of the hardest jobs you can have. You need a strong heart that cannot be broken so easily due to the fact you can’t get emotionally involved.
“Hearing everything he said, I knew mentally it would take a toll on me because seeing struggling kids breaks my heart.”
Sherya had dabbled in engineering at Griffins, and the support she received from engineers in her team convinced her the trades was the right path.
“A lot of the engineers helped me out and I learned how to fix my own problems on the machines. Engineering was something I thought I might enjoy doing as a job.”
“I like taking things apart and putting them back together. I’ve always been like that. The job is exactly what I used to do when I was a kid – take things apart, put them back together. Only now it’s more extreme.”
In 2017, she handed in her resignation and began studying Mechanical Engineering Level 3 at Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT).
While studying engineering, Sherya discovered that trades skills are a great way to give back to the community. She joined a volunteer project organised by MPTT, where she and other trainees did some mahi for RāWiri Community House in Manurewa.
“Our project was to restore their community vege garden that was destroyed from a car driving through their fence and straight over their vege garden boxes. We weeded all the planter boxes, trimmed back all the harakeke around the community house, fixed all the planter boxes, painted the fence and replanted all the veggies.”
For Sherya, the best part was meeting the workers at the community house.
“They are amazing at what they do. These ladies do a lot of mahi for our homeless. They bathe them, feed them and care for them every week. Being a part of the project was one of the best experiences I’ve had since I started studying.”
Having finished her pre-trades course, Sherya has now been awarded a valuable three-year engineering apprenticeship at Griffins and is on her way to getting qualified.
If you think you need help, a good place to start is with your GP. They can assess you, help you make a plan for your treatment, and connect you with mental health professionals like a counsellor or psychologist.
Helplines mean you can kōrero with a trained person over the phone for free. You can talk about how you’re feeling, or what to do if you know someone who may need help.
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So you like your job and the team you work with, but you wish you were earning more. Or maybe work would be perfect, if only you could adjust your hours. The best way to go from a good job to a great job isn’t always to apply for a new role – try asking your boss for what you want first.
But what should you say, and what happens if they don’t say yes? Here’s how to negotiate with your boss and get the job you want.
Whether you’re asking for more money or shorter hours, always meet with your boss in person. Don’t try to negotiate by email, and definitely don’t do it by text.
By meeting in person, you’re showing your boss you take the conversation seriously. This helps ensure they give proper thought to your request.
Before approaching your boss, do some research. For example, if you’re hoping for a pay rise, find out whether your current pay is higher or lower than average. Check out websites like CareersNZ or ask other people working in your trade. This will help you work out what to ask for.
Caroline Harris from ServiceIQ says you should make sure you know what result you want before you meet with your employer.
“Be clear about what you’re trying to achieve when talking with your boss.”
If you know what your goal is, you can then clearly communicate that to your boss.
Mahalia O’Conner, 25, was enjoying her job at Autoterminal in Manukau. But with a six-year-old daughter, it was difficult for her to work 7am-5pm like the rest of the team.
“My working hours were a bit long for my daughter. She was going to before-school care at 6am and I was picking her up from after-school care.”
Mahalia didn’t find it easy to ask for shorter hours, but she didn’t let nerves hold her back.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking approaching my boss – but I just had to do it. You can only ask.”
Whether you’re asking for a pay rise or more flexibility, Mahalia says it helps to remember your boss wants you to be happy in your job so you’ll work hard and stay with the company for longer.
“You need a life outside of work. And it goes both ways – you need your job, but you’re an asset to your employer as well.”
One way to deal with nerves and help you feel prepared is to practise what you’ll say when you meet with your boss, says Caroline.
“Practise before your meeting with a friend or family member. Prepare for the answer to be ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘maybe later’.”
That way, you’ll feel more ready to talk to your boss. There’s no need to memorise a script – just be clear on what your goal is and the points you want to make.
Let your boss know why you want what you’re asking for, like Mahalia.
“I asked my boss whether I could do shorter hours. I just explained the situation and told him it was because of my daughter’s school hours, and he was okay with it.”
If you’re asking for a pay rise, it’s better to talk about what you bring to the job than to point out how expensive your rent is.
For example, if you’ve learned new skills or taken on new responsibilities since you started the job, those are good reasons for your boss to pay you more.
As Mahalia found, even if your boss can’t give you everything you ask for, they might meet you in the middle.
“At first I asked if I could work 9am-3pm, and my boss asked if it would be okay for me to start later but still work until 5pm. So it was a bit of a compromise. Now I can drop my daughter off at school in the mornings, which makes a big difference.”
If your boss says ‘no’ to your request, ask if there’s anything you can do to make it possible in the future. For example, if you’re hoping for a pay rise and your boss turns you down, ask if you can take on more responsibility to earn a raise at a later date.