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Taranaki Future’s successful internship and mentoring programme, Accelerator will be led by local wellness advocate Paul Rangiwahia in 2021.

“After having to put our 2020 progamme on hold due to COVID-19, Accelerator 2021 is something to get excited about with local wellness advocate Paul Rangiwahia leading the mentoring side of the programme,” says Taranaki Futures Chair Steve Scott.

Designed to help improve the pathway between education and employment, Accelerator provides rangatahi with a chance to experience what the world of work is really like by spending time with Taranaki’s industry leaders learning about their sectors. This is followed by time as a group reflecting on their experiences with Paul and then hearing from guest speakers addressing key employability skills.

 “What I like about Accelerator is that it is more than a work experience programme, it has real conversations about resilience, communication, wellness and leadership,” says Paul Rangiwahia.

Paul Rangiwahia is an artist, speaker and wellness advocate most well-known for his thought-provoking Mental W.O.F artwork chock-a-block full of common sense wellness messages.

Supported by New Plymouth District Council, the Accelerator programme was started by former MP Jonathan Young in 2016.

How does it work?

Each Tuesday during term two of the school year small groups of students visit with industry to learn about different jobs, ask questions and gain real-world insight into what it is really like working in the industry. This is followed by coaching, led by Paul Rangiwahia, and guest speakers who address key employment topics such as the importance of good communication and how to build resilience. Contact your careers teacher or complete this expression of interest form to find out more.

Congratulations to our MPTT Land Based Training graduates who completed their New Zealand Certificate in Infrastructure Works (Level 2) this year in Waitara. The qualification provides an understanding of the infrastructure works industry and the health, safety and environmental knowledge required to work safely on site and with others, it is also a useful pre apprenticeship programme.

MPTT is a fees-free scholarship offered exclusively for Māori and Pasifika people aged between 16 and 40. To find out more or apply for 2021 contact Mel, our Taranaki Futures MPTT Coordinator.

Taranaki Futures continues to maintain its presence in Taranaki supporting those from education to employment.

The education and employment landscape is evolving, with significant reform and developments in tertiary education. Taranaki Futures see these changes as a catalyst for future opportunity, as we continue to deliver our high-value programmes, including in 2021 Infrastructure Talent Pipeline (Gateway), MPTT, Accelerator and reviewing the facilitation of an event for specific industry players as connectors with the school communities and partners.

As with most organisations, our operations have been impacted by COVID-19. Our highly regarded Accelerator Programme has been diverted until 2021. We have also rationalised our resources in a post COVID landscape to support the delivery of this reduced programme load and are confident in our long-serving team members ability to delivery our confirmed programme streams.

At this time, a decision not to reappoint a General Manager, following the departure of Belinda Mooney at the end of July 2020, is reflective of our reduced programme load.

The Board’s decision is that our established programmes are able to be delivered and managed by our existing team members, and Taranaki Futures doesn’t see the reappointment of another General Manager at this time as the best use of our resources.

We are extremely confident in the depth of experience, knowledge and capability of our team members, who will continue to manage our commitment to funding partners and delivery those programmes.

Taranaki Futures is excited to see what opportunities lay ahead, as we continue to support those looking to move from education to employment, work with our partners and stakeholders and deliver our well-known, and successful programmes.

 Any queries related to our programmes can be directed to Wendy Devine at info@taranakifutures.org.

The Taranaki Futures Board and the team look forward to 2021 as we continue to be part of the pathway offerings in Taranaki, connecting education pathways with employment.

Steve Scott

Chairman – Taranaki Futures Trust Incorporated

Kadie Smith from Sacred Heart Girls’ College got first-hand experience of science in the real world when she completed work experience through the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Gateway Programme at New Plymouth District Council’s Wastewater Treatment Plant last term.

“I found my time of work experience at the Wastewater Treatment plant extremely valuable as it taught me a lot about what the industry is actually like. I got to see how the chemistry I learn at school is actually applied to the real world, and it opened my eyes to a whole new industry,” says Kadie.

“I was able to work alongside others in a lab which gives me a good feel for what they do day-to-day. This has proven an extremely valuable experience for me as it has sparked more interest in my future career path as a chemical engineer.

Not only was she able to see the relevance of her school work to jobs, but she also got to use put her ‘essential skills’ to work.

“This experience enabled me to have conversations in the workforce with different people from different backgrounds around what they have done from their degrees till today, and about all the types of jobs available. These conversations are crucial to students like me as we have no understanding of what the jobs we are interested in are actually like.

Congratulations to this year’s Trades Academy students who worked on the Build a Trailer programme.

This collaborative programme, delivered in partnership with WITT and Engineering Taranaki Consortium, is for year 11-12 secondary school students interested in pursuing an engineering pathway. Modelled off the successful ‘build a bach’ project launched in 2014, the students on the programme get the best of tutor learning and industry experience.

Thanks to the ETC member companies and McCurdy Trucks, Energyworks and SMS in Stratford, who opened up their workplaces to support this programme.

Get insight and hands-on-experience for what a career in infrastructure has to offer with the latest Girls with Hi-Vis events.

Contact Energy is hosting an event at the Stratford Power Station on Tuesday 8 September and PowerCo and Downer are co-hosting an event at the Junction St Network Operations Centre and Utilities site on Thursday 10 September. Learn about roles from network controls, engineering and project management to utilities maintenance and line mechanics and hear female employees share their own career success and stories. To find out more and register please visit https://www.connexis.org.nz/careers/girls-high-vis/gwhv-event-registration/

Girls with Hi-Vis events are part of our Ultimit: Women in Infrastructure initiative which is all about promoting, supporting and increasing the number of women in the infrastructure industries. These events are designed to give female students a taster experience into the industry and show them the possibilities of a career pathway they may not have known existed.

Taranaki Futures partners with Connexis as part of our Infrastructure Talent Pipeline programme.

After months practicing behind the wheel with Taranaki Futures driver mentor Rob Wilcox (and Mum Sally), 18-year old Courtney Edwards is now licenced to drive! Congratulations Courtney – your hard work and commitment to learning has now paid off.

Her journey started back in July 2019 where she signed up for the Taranaki Futures Driver Licence programme running at Spotswood College. The programme included road code learning support, on road driving training along with a defensive driving course and AA test costs covered.  In 2020 she moved on from school to attend WITT – and continued learning on the Taranaki Futures driver programme.

It’s with special thanks to volunteer mentors like Rob Wilcox that programmes like this are possible. Rob mentored Courtney each week for two terms – a significant commitment for which we here at Taranaki Futures are so grateful.  

Having a driver’s licence is an important prerequisite for employment, which is why Taranaki Futures is involved in this programme. Funded by NPDC to help 50 students to gain their restricted drivers licence, today 18% have achieved their restricted licence and a further 24% are booked to sit the test in the coming weeks. The remainder are on track to complete the programme by the end of October.

Infrastructure is a sector with a broad array of careers. Pictured here is Kadi Smith of Sacred Heart Girls’ College spending some time at the NPDC Water Treatment Plant. Water management is an important part of supporting our everyday lifestyle, as Kadi learned during her six-day work placement during the July school holidays.

At Taranaki Futures we love to support students to gain insightful experiences through work placements like this. Big thanks to the NPDC Water Treatment team for hosting Kadi, and taking the time to inspire your future workforce!

After Build a Trailer students spent term two working on the trailer, the team at Dialog Fitzroy have stepped in to move the project forward during the holiday break. Pictured here is 2019 Build a Trailer graduate Liam Walton from Francis Douglas Memorial College, now employed as one of the Dialog Fitzroy team, polishing the welds to perfection and getting it ready for the galvanising stage.

Doug Timanus, Site Operations & Production Manager at Dialog Fitzroy is overseeing the trailer work and will have it back on campus at WITT for students to complete during term three. “We are always happy to get behind motivated students looking to enter the engineering sector” he says. Last year Dialog Fitzroy employed two students from the programme – and has signed up to have two more work experience students this year.

Taranaki Futures, a charitable organisation with a purpose to smooth the pathway from education to employment, works to meaningfully bring together industry and educators. Taranaki Futures Chair Steve Scott says “Build a Trailer is a fantastic model for developing engineering trade sector pathways, having ETC member’s and other companies support young talent in this way is a credit to their proactive workforce development planning”.

As part of the Taranaki Futures Infrastructure Gateway programme students were invited to attend the one day Traffic Management programme at NPDC. Pictured here is NPDC trainer Greg Bosley and students busy at work completing the course content.

Delivered in partnership with the NPDC led Infrastructure Talent Pipeline group (a group of 10 infrastructure businesses digging in to help build a future youth talent employment pipeline). Students on the programme complete some Connexis NZQA units, spend time gaining real-world experience and attend a one-day NPDC Traffic Management course.

“The course is an important part of the programme as many employers look for this certification when advertising positions” says Taranaki Futures General Manager Belinda Mooney. “This is a unique opportunity to tailor education to industry needs, and we are very grateful to the NPDC team that have supported students to complete this certification as part of the programme” she said.

Tino pai NPDC.