Posted 04-04-19
As an organisation we fundamentally exist to build flourishing communities. We aim to provide our people with the time, resources, support and encouragement they need to flourish in all manner of ways - financially, spiritually, mentally, and physically - and it’s our primary belief that business exists to do good through providing employment and training first, and everything else is a bonus.
We believe we have a social responsibility to invest in the people in our local communities and one of the ways we do this is by giving them an opportunity to gain a skill and a career and, in doing so an outlet to flourish.
It’s no secret to many in the New Zealand construction industry that we lack the skilled labour to meet demand during a building boom, with many companies forced to bring in offshore talent. While this approach meets the immediate need, when work slows back down the workers move on, our talent pool shrinks again and we’re back to square one. Reports from both within the industry itself and from Government indicate the combination of growing demand and an ageing workforce means we’ll need around 57,000 more skilled workers by 2026. However, on average only 13,000 people graduate from construction-related courses each year and the stigma about choosing a career as a tradesperson still lingers.
Through our work we see the challenges faced by companies on an almost daily basis and believe apprenticeship schemes are essential to the long term health of our industry. By developing a deeper talent pool of skilled tradespeople that addresses the ongoing skills shortage and enables sustainable growth in the domestic market.
Here at home we’re proud to have trained more than twenty-eight apprentices over the past eight years and we’ve also made an internal commitment to ourselves to have at least 15% of our workforce in an apprenticeship or cadetship.
In March, we ran a two-day intensive workshop for our current group of apprentices, which incorporated everything from personal values and goal setting, to health, safety and wellbeing sessions, and a get-together with the wider home family to celebrate their addition to the team. There was also a presentation from Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) about their new apprentice pilot programme, for which we are a delivery partner. Our aim behind this workshop was to set our apprentices up for success, and encourage and inspire them to develop into the person they want to be. We are excited to watch them flourish as they continue their journey.
If you are interested in learning about how our apprenticeship scheme works, or you would like to join the team by starting an apprenticeship, get in touch with us.