Pacific youth not in employment, education or training (Neet) rates rose from 15.9% in 2023 to 19.9% in 2024, nearly double the national rate of 11.3%.<\/p>\n
The data shows Pacific peoples are one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations in New Zealand, with over half under the age of 30. <\/p>\n
However, educational attainment remains a challenge: only 65% of Pacific students achieve NCEA Level 2, compared to 73% nationally, and just 18% hold a bachelor\u2019s degree or higher, compared to a national rate of 37%.<\/p>\n
Unemployment and underutilisation rates for Pacific peoples sit at 10% and 18% respectively \u2013 significantly higher than the national averages of 5% and 12%.<\/p>\n
A new path<\/p>\n
Mata\u2019aga Hana Fanene-Taiti, chief executive of Oamaru Pacific Island Trust and Deputy Mayor of Waitaki.<\/p>\n
Mata\u2019aga Hana Fanene-Taiti, chief executive of Oamaru Pacific Island Trust and Waitaki Deputy Mayor, said many Pacific workers arrived in New Zealand with years of work experience but no formal qualifications.<\/p>\n
She said the name Fetu \u2013 meaning \u201cstar\u201d in Gagana Samoa \u2013 honoured Pacific navigators who used the night sky to guide their journeys, symbolising a new path for workers seeking skills and recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraditional training pathways are often inaccessible due to cost, distance or time,\u201d Fanene-Taiti said.<\/p>\n
\u201cProject Fetu is about creating hybrid, community-based ways of learning that meet people where they are, not just for Pacific people but for those in rural areas too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initiative allows us to provide alternative hybrid ways of upskilling members in our community, especially from a rural perspective. We don\u2019t have tertiary providers here, so this highlights the demand and the need from the regions, but also a different way of teaching and learning that could benefit others too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fanene-Taiti said she thought Pacific people had a different way of learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re quite eclectic learners. We listen and we learn by feeling, by using all of our senses, not necessarily in a traditional classroom setting.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the pilot responded to urgent local needs, with meat processors downsizing across the South Island and Pacific workers disproportionately affected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unstable and pretty volatile at the moment, which highlights the urgent need we have for diversification. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to provide other pathway opportunities for our Pacific community and others who are working in the primary sector to consider alternative industries.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that for some, the micro-credential could lead to roles in construction or manufacturing. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor others, it\u2019s a chance to step up into supervisory or managerial positions, roles Pacific workers have historically struggled to access.\u201d<\/p>\n
Designed for families<\/p>\n
Fanene-Taiti said the programme was deliberately designed with families in mind, with learners\u2019 children and parents invited to the graduation in November. <\/p>\n
\u201cGold standard for us is seeing all 10 learners walk across the stage to receive a certificate with their families watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said some of them have never received a qualification before. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen their kids see that success, it becomes normalised. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey think, \u2018If Dad can do it, I can too.\u2019 That\u2019s the intergenerational impact we want.\u201d<\/p>\n
A model for the future?<\/p>\n
Phil Alexander-Crawford, chief executive of Hanga-Aro-Rau Workforce Development Council.<\/p>\n
Phil Alexander-Crawford, chief executive of Hanga-Aro-Rau, said the pilot was co-designed with learners and adjusted in real time to meet their needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Pacific workforce is growing and younger, and ensuring a sustainable pipeline is critical \u2013 especially in regions where a single business closure can have wide-reaching impacts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDelivering training in culturally appropriate ways will ensure we get the best out of learners, enabling them to immediately contribute to the workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander-Crawford said the pilot also aimed to raise awareness of the manufacturing sector and the variety of careers it offered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see Project Fetu as a proof of concept for the rest of New Zealand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it succeeds in Waitaki, it will show that community-led, culturally responsive workforce development can be scaled to other regions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is how we begin to close the gaps for Pacific peoples while strengthening industry capability across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fanene-Taiti hoped the pilot would inspire similar models across Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to create innovative ways of bringing education to the regions, ways that are relevant, successful and impactful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would love to see this approach of collaboration scaled across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about social return as much as financial return. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about building confidence, creating role models, and strengthening our communities so the next generation can thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Project Fetu is a partnership between the Oamaru Pacific Island Trust and Hanga-Aro-Rau Workforce Development Council for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38823,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[4886,95,17520,1647,138,2046,35530,6097,1122,35526,2082,16132,3273,35529,266,5838,34888,35528,23807,232,4479,11285,111,139,69,90,10521,9629,13572,12425,19723,3263,35527,7192,3175,223,8812,810,17454,4478],"class_list":["post-38822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jobs","tag-aims","tag-and","tag-barriers","tag-breaking","tag-business","tag-career","tag-culturalaccess","tag-down","tag-employment","tag-fetu","tag-for","tag-formal","tag-future","tag-geographical","tag-government","tag-help","tag-helps","tag-industryfirst","tag-initiative","tag-jobs","tag-launching","tag-learning","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-opening","tag-otago","tag-pacific","tag-pathways","tag-pilot","tag-project","tag-retrain","tag-risk","tag-rural","tag-the","tag-training","tag-up","tag-whose","tag-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}