Kotahitanga, Regional partnerships – connecting people with employers

Changing lives in Whakatane with CadetMax

Tipene Van Den Anker with his new employer Scott McCabe.

Work and Income has partnered with the Auckland and Eastern Bay of Plenty Chambers of Commerce to run the first CadetMax programme in Whakatane.

CadetMax is a 12-week induction programme that prepares young job seekers for the workforce. Cadets are matched with employers to gain full-time employment and provided with pre-employment support.

Tipene Van Den Anker, a recent graduate from the CadetMax Whakatane programme, says CadetMax has provided him with the skills to communicate more effectively in every situation. He feels motivated and inspired to achieve his goals.

Tipene has been successful in getting a job in his hometown of Edgecumbe with Tunnicliffe Timber – a small remanufacturing company employing about 20 local people.

 “I have learnt so many new skills in a short time, I am no longer just stacking wood, I can actually now start many of the machines, have the skills to fix each machine, I am learning more and more each day. I am so happy”. Tipene says that now he has income coming into the house, he is able to help out his family in ways he never thought he would have been able to. “We now have money to get out and do fun activities. It’s just great.”

Scott McCabe, co-owner of Tunnicliffe Timber, was introduced to CadetMax through the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. He says that both he and his business partner have always been keen on developing people.

Bay of Plenty stands for ‘Better Outcomes for People’

Young people are taking up work in the kiwifruit industry in the Bay of Plenty.

Our Bay of Plenty team knows that working together with others helps create positive and long lasting change for the people we serve.

The team is always looking to build and maintain strong relationships with employers, communities and other stakeholders. These relationships often lead the way to achieve great outcomes for the people and community they help each and every day.

The team’s Western Bay of Plenty work broker has been working closely with local kiwifruit contractor Luciano Garcia to connect local youth and job seekers from across the country to orchard pruning opportunities. The partnership is shaping the previously negative perception of working in the kiwifruit industry to a more positive and successful one.

Recruitment for this opportunity has come in many forms. Not only has Luciano been partnering with Work and Income, he has also been working with Te Puke High School which has led to secure and steady summer work for students. Work and Income has helped connect job seekers returning from the repack season back to work in the orchards, highlighting how the kiwifruit industry can be a year-round and viable career opportunity.

Luciano, who is originally from Brazil, is keen for his staff to make the kiwifruit industry a long-term employment option. While he has always had contact with Work and Income he has more recently partnered with us to help New Zealanders into kiwifruit work in the Western Bay of Plenty.

Work and Income is helping out with funding towards two vans to transport two pruning crews from Rotorua. Roy Paul, the driver and team leader of one of the vans, describes working for Luciano as “a welcoming and family-like environment, where you can learn and grow”. He said the team members who travel with him each day from Rotorua are great. “We all get on really well and are our own little whānau. We have tool box meetings if somebody has an issue or worry in their life and together we talk things through.”

Andrew Neho, from Kaikohe, says he and his son saw the advertisement in their Work and Income branch up north and jumped at the chance for a change of scene with the opportunity to earn some money. Andrew says “It’s important to have something to get up and do every day, you meet new people and learn new skills which is great”.

Our Bay of Plenty team is focused on working with communities, providers and employers to strengthen relationships and help connect people to employment and other opportunities, to improve not only their lives but their families’ lives.

They believe that Bay of Plenty stands for ‘Better Outcomes for People’.