Kylie Fowell, MPTT 2019

When Kylie Fowell accepted a Taranaki Futures Māori & Pasifika Trades Training (MPTT) scholarship for Health & Wellbeing, she had no idea just how needed those skills would be. Fast-forward a year and she is an essential worker at the Taranaki District Health Board, part of the healthcare workforce on the front-line to unite against Covid-19.

Kylie completed her studies at WITT in Taranaki during 2019. As part of the Taranaki Futures MPTT scholarship, all course fees and related expenses were covered. “I was so stoked to receive the scholarship, it made returning to studies that much easier for our family” comments Kylie.

An important component of the scholarship includes an extra level of support from a Taranaki Futures Programme Co-ordinator.  “Melody was really helpful, arranging the ordering of things like my work experience uniform as well as a general sounding board along the way – it’s a valuable part of the scholarship” she said.

Kylie started at the Taranaki District Health Board during the Covid-19 Level 4 Lockdown. “I’m loving my new role – and the chance to support the Taranaki community at a time where my skills are so needed”.

Ngā mihi ki a koe, mo to mahi kaha. (Thank you for your hard work Kylie).

Ko te manu e kai ana te miro, nōna te ngāhere. Ko te manu e kai ana te mātauranga, nōna te ao. (The bird who eats from the miro tree, owns the forest, however the bird that consumes learning owns the world).

Savanah Hislop, Accelerator 2019

When Savanah Hislop enrolled in the Taranaki Futures Accelerator programme in March 2019 she had no idea it would start of a series of events that would see her leave school before the year was out.

Accelerator is Taranaki Future’s 10-week mentoring programme that runs during term two each year. Designed to help improve the pathway between education and employment, Accelerator is all about giving young people a chance to experience what the world of work is really like. It is not so much about hands-on work experience, it is a unique opportunity to hear from leaders across Taranaki about their industry of work.

Savanah was excited to be placed with the team at Southern Cross Hospital. “I have an interest in health and it gave me the opportunity to learn from professionals within the industry”. After the 10 week mentoring programme ended Savanah knew nursing was the right path for her and took action – enrolling in the WITT nursing programme right way: “The experience really motivated be to become a nurse”.

Savanah is now thriving in her WITT studies “my nursing is going incredibly, straight A’s and I’m so happy!!”.

So for anyone considering Accelerator this year Savanah says  “100% go and do it – it is the best decision I made.”.

roxanne mcalister, 2018 MPTT graduate

Roxanne McAlister is well-settled into her career path in beauty therapy with the assistance of Māori and Pasifica Trades Training. That path wasn’t obvious a few years ago.

“I left school at 17 and went dairy farming,” Roxanne explains. “I had some bad experiences and left and went into the meat works at Eltham for four years.”

Family was the next step, but after having two daughters Roxanne says she was stumped about what to do. “So I looked at beauty and did a half-year make-up artistry course. And I realised that was where I wanted to be.”

To take her new interest to a professional level, she studied beauty therapy at WITT for a year. “I loved it.” Roxanne was offered a scholarship through MPTT, which had just included beauty therapy as a trade for the first time. “That saved me $7000 on my student loan. I finished, got a job at Royale Beauty Therapy and half-way through was offered a full-time job.”

The assistance of MPTT and its cultural development component also revitalised her Māori heritage. “It brought a lot of things back from when I was a kid,” Roxanne says. Living then in Taumarunui, she spoke Māori regularly. But after coming back to Taranaki, she lost the benefits of that Māori embrace. “I lost my korero ... from speaking it everyday, I lost everything.”

The MPTT support gave it back. “I learned about matariki and pepeha ... it opened it all up again. “It was easier for me,” Roxanne admits. “It was harder for those who didn’t know their background as much as I did.”

Her renewed awareness and comfort in her culture is helping the salon business. “Beauty therapy is very competitive. We are a little multi-cultural now and more and more Māori and Pasifika clients are coming in because they feel comfortable here. A lot of Māori don’t take care of themselves and are scared of judgement. Now they are making regular appointments and feel comfortable about it.” The advanced nature of the salon is also encouraging Roxanne in her career aspirations. “I am learning more than ever. One day I would like to open my own clinic.”

taine Julian, accelerator 2018

“The world’s your oyster.” Those words were drummed into a group of enthusiastic Taranaki teenagers during the pilot Accelerator internship and mentoring programme. And they were words that particularly hit home to Taine Julian.

“Our coaches pointed out that there are opportunities everywhere, and if something doesn’t necessary work out straight away, it’s fine, there’s always something else out there for you,” says the 17-year-old Francis Douglas Memorial College student. Taine took part in the Accelerator programme because he saw it as a learning opportunity and also a chance to get more information on the career he is considering – chemical process engineering.

Aside from the weekly sessions where the students listened to and were led in small groups by experienced business coaches, Taine spent an hour a week at engineering and contracting organisation WorleyParsons New Zealand Ltd. “It really confirmed what I want to do. Before I took part in the programme and went to WorleyParsons I didn’t really know what they did, but I met all the discipline managers and got to understand what the jobs involve,” Taine says.

cheyenne robins, build a bach 2018

Seventeen-year-old Cheyenne Robins got her first pay cheque as a building apprentice late last year while many of her peers are still deciding their next steps. “I’ve always been keen on hands on work and when a teacher at school suggested taking part in Build a Bach in 2017 I was happy to give it a go,” says former Waitara High School student Cheyenne Robins.

Cheyenne then went onto a year of full time Build a Bach and completed her pre-trade qualification at WITT in 2018. Her aptitude for building and good work ethic stood out early.

“I noticed Cheyenne at the annual apprentice challenge held by Taranaki Construction Safety Group where she was judged the best candidate out of 64, across 10 different assessors – she really proved herself in the field,” says Andrew Pepper from Pepper Construction who quickly offered Cheyenne work experience.

That work experience turned into paid holiday work, then an apprenticeship, which Cheyenne started in December last year. “I feel lucky to have had the opportunity for the work experience and I made the most of it,” says Robins.

“The exposure to the hands-on experience young people get through Build a Bach really adds value for the employer – it’s a great trial before you hire,” says Pepper.