The COVID-19 pandemic has affected business in different ways, including impacting employment rates across the country. According to a recent report from Statistics New Zealand*, unemployment rates for men actually fell for the June 2020 quarter. However the same could not be said for women. Unemployment rates for women rose in the same period, and the number of women who want to work but can’t find employment (known as the under-utilisation rate) has increased to almost 15 percent. Astonishingly, around 60 to 70 percent of those who lost jobs during the height of the pandemic were women.

Hawke’s Bay local Sarah-Jo Barley is on a mission to increase employment opportunities for wahine in the district. Three years ago Sarah-Jo founded The Development Hub, an organisation that offers training and support for women looking to enter or return to the workforce. She says a lot of The Development Hub’s work is about helping participants find the confidence to value their own inherent skills and abilities. “We help our participants to understand their ‘why’, to think about how they can achieve their personal goals and identify the skills they already have. We also work hard on creating support networks and tools that are with these women into the workforce, and support them once they are working,” she says.

Part of The Development Hub’s approach is to find suitable employment opportunities for their programme graduates. “We often contact businesses who are seeking new staff and work through different flexible employment options. For many women, flexibility is really important as it means they can balance family and work commitments.  A lot of the wahine that come through our programme have young children and can’t work a standard 9am to 5pm 40-hour week. By being flexible, employers can access a whole new base of skilled and willing candidates who can offer real value,” says Sarah-Jo.

The Development Hub helps employers access funding for training and development, ensuring those placed in roles also have an opportunity to grow their skills. “Employers put our participants through the same interview process as other candidates, so they are judged by the same standards. We know we’re doing a great job when our wahine successfully land the job they want, and when employers return to us for more candidates. The Development Hub places over 80 percent of our candidates into employment and we are immensely proud of these wāhine. Our graduates go on to become loyal and reliable team members that deliver incredible outcomes for the businesses they work in,” says Sarah-Jo.

Recent Development Hub graduate Rawinia Sullivan has recently taken on a customer coordinator position at Switched on Housing, a lead contractor for Housing New Zealand. “Before I came to The Development Hub I was really shy,” says Rawinia. “On the first day of the course they asked me to stand up in front of the class and introduce myself. I was so nervous! But then I looked around the room and realised that everyone was there to help each other,” she says.

Rawinia says her time at The Development Hub helped her clearly articulate what she could offer an employer. “During the interview I was able to talk about my knowledge of the community that Switched on Housing support. I knew I would be able to talk with customers in a way that they could connect with. And although I didn’t have on-the-ground experience, I told them that I was really keen to learn” she says.

Switched on Housing was able to offer her flexible working hours, meaning Rawinia could balance work and home commitments. “I was quite nervous about asking for flexible hours but they were really good about it. My manager understands that my son is important to me and that I’m a mum as well as a team member. It’s such an awesome place to work – my team is great and I love my job,” says Rawinia.

Sarah-Jo says Rawinia’s success story is one of many. “We’ve now partnered with over 50 Hawke’s Bay businesses to support their staffing needs, and have successfully worked with over 400 candidates. What we’re seeing is that when employees are treated well and supported, they work hard and are immensely loyal to their employer. It’s a real win-win outcome” she says.

*Source: https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/labour-market-statistics-june-2020-quarter

For more information contact Sarah-Jo Barley
sarahjo@thedevelopmenthub.nz or call 022 368 8771

For a growing number of Hawke’s Bay residents, finding a place to call home is an ongoing struggle. Like many areas around New Zealand, our district is experiencing a chronic housing shortage. Although the construction sector is ramping up to meet demand, the focus is often on building larger up-market properties. This leaves very few affordable housing options for first-home buyers and renters.

Aayden Clarke and Rawinia Lewis of Ngāti Kahungunu property management company K3 are determined to change this. “We established K3 as a way to start making real progress in building affordable homes for those living in the Kahungunu rohe. We believe all whānau should have the opportunity to live in a warm, dry and beautiful home,” says Aayden.

K3’s broader goal is to provide training, employment and business opportunities for Māori, increasing living standards and income levels. Employees on K3 construction projects will be paid at least the living wage, and there will be a number of apprenticeships available for those looking to get started in the industry. “Over the coming months we’re likely to see more people losing their jobs. Homelessness is becoming a real issue for our district. Having a home and a job is such an important way to break the cycle. Our vision is for Māori to build homes for Māori, and to help whānau to achieve home ownership and stable employment in the process,”
says Aayden.

Prior to taking on the position of business manager at K3, Rawinia Lewis was working on housing projects at the Ministry of Social Development (MSD). “Part of my role at MSD included overseeing emergency housing,” says Rawinia. “Between March and June 2020, the Ministry spent nearly $3 million on emergency accommodation for over 500 homeless people in the Hawke’s Bay. These are people living in our rohe that need a home. Ngāti Kahungunu has decided to take an active role in finding better solutions to this problem,” says Rawinia.

The organisation sees building homes as a way to achieve many additional benefits, including improved living standards, long-term employment opportunities, and training for iwi in trade and professional services. K3’s apprenticeship programme recently received $2 million from the Government’s Māori Trades and Training Fund. This $50 million fund was launched as part of the 2020 Budget’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery strategy.

Over the long-term, Aayden, a consultant to K3,  says it’s aim is also to help increase Māori business ownership. “Many whānau are living pay cheque to pay cheque and that can be incredibly stressful. When you see Dad or Mum waiting to be picked up each morning at 7am to head off to work for someone else, that becomes normal. We want more Māori families to be heading off to work in their own truck, with their own business name printed on the side,” he says.

K3 is working with partners such at Kāinga Ora, Habitat for Humanity, Napier City Council and Hastings District Council. “It’s really important that we join together to address the housing problem in our district. Our chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana’s vision for this mahi is to eradicate homelessness in our rohe. We need to start being brave and trying new ideas. There are some great examples around the world of how to build affordable homes and communities that people actually want to live in. It’s not about just dumping a box on a bare piece of land and hoping for the best” says Aayden.

K3 will be looking to prioritise suppliers and contractors that support the organisation’s mission. “We want to use these projects as a way to improve the long-term health and well-being of Māori. We’re keen to work with those who understand our kaupapa, and are particularly interested in hearing from Māori tradespeople and businesses,” says Aayden.

For more information about K3 visit www.k3property.co.nz