Te Ara Mahi – Pathways to Work
Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit (Kānoa – RDU) administers several skills and training initiatives. Some, such as Te Ara Mahi, are funded through the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), while others draw on alternative sources of funding.
The Provincial Growth Fund support was unveiled in February 2019, with the government announcing that the PGF would set aside $82.4 million to target regional employment, skills and capability.
Te Ara Mahi, or TAM, was established to help support people into jobs, at the same time as equipping them with the skills and experience to find work and build a sustainable career.
Pathways to Work
Te Ara Mahi focusses on bringing regional New Zealand workers and employers together to ensure local people have the chance to get jobs at the same time as helping employers get the workers they need.
Helping employers get the labour they want when they want it builds business confidence, encouraging companies to expand their operations in the regions. This helps accelerate job creation, which in turn leads to sustainable economic growth.
TAM funded projects focused on:
- Improving the pathway to employment, including providing tailored support for people to become work-ready so they are able to gain and sustain employment
- Employers who needed support, coordination, or connections to hire local people
- Specifically targeted regions across New Zealand closely aligned to PGF objectives. The Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch metropolitan areas were specifically excluded.
Te Ara Mahi manages approximately 100 projects which are designed to empower communities to help people and employers overcome the obstacles to long-term sustainable employment.
TAM initiatives include targeted pre-employment training, on-site education, front-line leadership training, at-risk youth programmes, pastoral care services, in-school employment pathways, sector-specific training and targeted community programmes.
TAM has worked strategically to bring government agencies together to respond to the specific needs of local employers and potential workers, at the same time as providing access to the full range of government employment support services.
