MPTT is pleased to welcome Lifeskills to the whānau, offering practical training in Automotive and Electrical pre-trades, and soon Carpentry Level 3.
“We’re really pleased to have Lifeskills on board as one of our MPTT training providers,” says Sam Sefuiva, MPTT Project Manager.
“With campuses in Papakura, Māngere and Henderson, Lifeskills are helping us cover more of Auckland, especially in high-demand trades like Automotive, Construction and Electrical—areas where we haven’t had enough coverage.”
“It means more options for our Māori and Pasifika whānau, both in terms of where they can study and what kind of environment they’ll be learning in.”
Manu Palelei, General Manager – Growth, Funding and Partnerships, says Lifeskills is looking forward to helping more learners.
“We have a strong track record of supporting those who have been underserved by mainstream education,” she says.
Industry experts share their insights
Lifeskills hands-on, values-based courses prepare ākonga for real work in the trades.
“What’s unique about us is that we’ve got all our teaching staff come from the industries that they are teaching, they’re subject matter experts. And not only that, they come from the communities that they’re teaching in,” says Manu.
“We identified that a lot of our learners are Māori and Pasifika young people, as well as second-chance learners. Many were underserved by mainstream education. They felt unseen in the current education space and so have already disengaged by the time they come through to us.”
Lifeskills supports its learners with wrap-around pastoral care. Additionally, small class sizes, individual attention, and a safe, welcoming environment are central to their model.
“We embed tikanga and the Pasifika Way, within the delivery and the content itself. We also have a kaitiaki on campus.”
Lifeskills has a proud history
Lifeskills was formerly known as SkillsUpdate. In 2019, it was purchased by Life Community Trust and later merged with Quality Education Services (QES), bringing together strengths in education and social services.
Lifeskills delivers Level 3 certificates in Automotive Engineering, Electrical Engineering (Pre-Trade), and Construction Trade Skills (Carpentry).
Sam says, “Their foundation-level training is solid, and it sets learners up well to step into our MPTT Level 3 programmes. They’ve got good relationships with local schools—especially ones with large numbers of Māori and Pasifika students—and they’re helping those young people make the move into trades training.”
Lifeskills also works closely with faith-based communities, which gives us greater reach into those spaces and helps connect more people to the opportunities MPTT can offer.
“Their leadership has strong Māori and Pacific representation, and their values line up well with ours. ” says Sam.
Josh Levi, Community Relationship Manager for youth onsite with a group of MPTT automotive trainees at their Henderson campus. There are currently 26 MPTT trainees studying Automotive at Lifeskills across all of their campuses.
Lifeskills and MPTT share a vision
Manu Palulei says Lifeskills shares MPTT’s vision of seeing more Māori and Pasifika get started in a trade and lift their earning potential.
“We don’t turn anyone away. For us, it’s about creating a safe place on campus to learn. For way too long, Māori and Pasifika have been on the wrong side of the statistics. In my view, it’s important we define our own success stories.”
“I think of one student from a very hard background. One day, on his way to campus, he was caught up in a fight and managed to escape. We wrapped around him, and now he’s completed his qualification. In fact, he’s back on campus wanting to do the next level.”
This story shows more than success for that one tauira, but also for their family, peers and the community. Lifeskills is helping our people change the direction of their lives and inspire others to do the same.
Opportunities are there for the taking
There is high demand for trades covered by Lifeskills. The partnership with MPTT brings more opportunities for tauira and whānau.
Manu explains, “Working with MPTT is the cherry on top of the cake. It’s helping remove barriers for the Pacific and Māori students.
Sam agrees, “I’m looking forward to working with Lifeskills and want to give a warm welcome to their first group of ākonga, tutors and staff.”
