October 15, 2020
We have recently established a relationship with Te Matarau Trust. This involves seven different hapu (subtribes) from Te Tai Tokerau Maori electorate. It is essentially a Maori and Pasifika trade training initiative with the ultimate aim of supporting learners into employment and apprenticeships.
The trust will provide a unique hapu/iwi-specific pastoral support package to its students. We are proud to announce that McKay has employed Callum Milner as an electrical apprentice through this scheme. He will progress through his apprenticeship exactly like all our other apprentices with this support available to him.
We are the first company to have employed an apprentice backed by the Trust. Lindsay, Alison and Elizabeth attended a hui at Porowini Marae where Callum was the main
man along with several politicians and kaumatua from the different hapu. Lindsay was invited to speak on behalf of McKay and used this opportunity to use his newfound skills of reciting his ancestry in Te Reo Maori. This went down very well with the Kaumatua and they really seemed to appreciate his effort. Callum’s whanau was also there and it was a proud moment for all involved.
Andrew Edwards it keen to establish links with other Maori trusts further south in Auckland and Waikato. The country is short of tradespeople and there is a rich source of individuals who, for various reasons, do not push themselves forward for apprenticeship opportunities. Hopefully initiatives such as Te Matarau Trust will seek these people out and match them up with companies like McKay.