Fulton Hogan is taking a leading role in an initiative to improve educational achievement, economic development, job growth and social wellbeing of Mãori and Pasifika people in South Auckland.
The Auckland Council Mãori and Pacific Island Trade Training scheme, known as The Southern Initiative, aims to get 18 to 24 year olds off dependency and into paid employment in trades such as plumbing and carpentry, or into the roading industry.
“Fulton Hogan is proud to be part of this initiative because we believe in investing in our people and communities,” said Fulton Hogan Mãori Engagement and Strategy Advisor, Dãnielle Ria Hobby.
“We have a strong track record of employing graduates and offer a variety of scholarships and traineeships to foster engineering within the communities where we operate,” said Dānielle.
Fulton Hogan has led the way by assisting with the creation of roading and engineering pathways programme, and by hiring the first graduates of the programme.
“Our industry training partner Soloman Group put the candidates through a 12-week programme to gain a class 1 licence, WTR endorsements, TC basic and scaffolding qualifications, and confidence and communication skills,” said Dānielle.
“A high number of candidates who come through the programme have been out of work for a long period of time. Soloman Group has done a great job of preparing candidates with the confidence to return to the workforce with long term career aspirations.” she said.
Fulton Hogan employed seven graduates in November 2014. The graduates start out working across the Fulton Hogan Auckland business and at a later date will have the opportunity to choose a pathway they prefer within the business.
Fulton Hogan and Soloman Group also piloted an Engineering Prep School, designed to inspire more Mãori and Pacific Island employees into the field of Civil Engineering. This 15 week in-house programme saw 10 students finish with NCEA numeracy and literacy qualifications, WTR endorsements and a National Certificate in Infrastructure (Level 2).
