50 Māori graduates from across New Zealand are preparing to graduate at a ceremony at Hoani Waititi Marae today, after six months of training and gaining skills and qualifications.
The ceremony will be hosted by AWF (Allied Work Force), New Zealand's largest recruitment organisation.
The Mana o Whakaaro, the AWF Maori Cadetship Programme is a partnership with Te Puni Kōkiri Ministry for Māori development and aims to increase the number of Māori who have certifications across a umber of trades ranging from carpentry to food handling and civil construction.
AWF Madison CEO Simon Bennett says that the cadet’s hard work and dedication has been impressive and points towards a bright future as they build their careers.
“In recent years we’ve heard a lot about skills shortages, particularly in relation to the Canterbury rebuild and the big infrastructure projects in Auckland and Wellington.
“AWF’s training programmes are a way for us to help to maximise the unskilled resource New Zealand already has. Our relationship with Te Puni Kokiri continues to be very valuable to us as we look for 60 more cadets for the 2016 programme.”
Advocate for the Trades training initiative, Sir Pita Sharples, will attend the graduation at his home marae, along with whānau and friends of the cadets who will graduate at the ceremony, set to kick off at 2pm.
