People

Tangata Whenua – Māori workforce

Actions

Timeframe: Medium-long term

The RSLG has endorsed Tāmaki 10,000 as a Māori Regional Labour Market Strategy.

The RSLG will support Tāmaki 10,000 and Whāriki Māori Business Network to work together to explore workforce opportunities for Māori and support outcomes for Māori small to medium enterprise.

The RSLG will advocate for foundational incentives to be developed for employers and kaimahi Māori as lifelong opportunities to upskill, learn, develop and maintain employability through economic periods of growth and disruption.

The RSLG will stand by programmes and Initiatives that close the gaps in pay equity and pay parity for Māori in the workforce and support industry sectors and businesses that promote good pay for the right skills and career development.

Tāmaki 10,000(external link)

Whāriki(external link)

Expected outcomes  

  • More Māori into good jobs
  • Better visibility of pathways to good careers
  • Support Māori to transition into higher quality employment
  • Partner with industry to improve equity across employment opportunities for Māori
  • Support Māori businesses creating quality employment opportunities for Māori (‘for Māori by Māori’).

Key stakeholders

  • Amotai
  • Auckland Regional Leadership Group TM Shared regional priorities
  • Auckland Unlimited
  • Māori and Pacific Trades Training
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • Tāmaki 10,000
  • Te Pae Herenga o Tāmaki,
  • Te Puni Kōkiri
  • Whāriki Business Network

Pacific workforce

Actions

Timeframe: Medium-long term

The RSLG will support Pacific workforce upskilling initiatives, led or facilitated by Pacific communities that will help Pacific people through education, micro-credentials, digital and tech, as well as literacy and numeracy projects e.g., Project Ikuna.

The RSLG will support initiatives that close the gap in pay for Pacific in the workplace and supports industry and sector businesses that promote good pay for the right skills and provide opportunities for career development e.g., Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry.

The RSLG will advocate through its networks and relationships to connect Pacific businesses with support and resources (delivered by key regional stakeholders) to build resilience and growth.

The RSLG will support career information support and advice initiatives that have reach and purchase with Pacific people in relevant aiga and groups.

Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry(external link)

Expected outcomes

  • More Pacific with good skills into good jobs
  • Better visibility of pathways to good careers
  • Support Pacific to transition into higher quality employment
  • Partner with industry to improve equity across employment opportunities for Pacific
  • Support Pacific businesses creating quality employment opportunities for Pacific

Key stakeholders

  • Auckland Unlimited
  • Cause Collective
  • Ministry of Pacific People
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • Pacific Business Trust
  • Pacific Prosperity Project with The Southern Initiative
  • Uptempo Programme
  • Union Komiti Pasifika
  • Amotai

Rangatahi - Ensuring sustainable and equitable education and employment outcomes for the region’s youth

Actions

Timeframe: Short term

The RSLG will advocate secondary schools, vocational education institutions, Ministry of Education and Māori and Pacific to address the crisis of large numbers of south Auckland rangatahi leaving school without qualifications during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Timeframe: Medium and long term

The RSLG supports secondary schools to prototype initiatives that encourage young people across Tāmaki Makaurau to stay and complete secondary school before moving into high-quality tertiary education, employment or enterprise. (EDAP 3.1.4).

Auckland Economic Development Action Plan 2021-24(external link) — Auckland Council

The RSLG promotes enhancing careers delivery pathways beginning at school while acknowledging the region’s people are on a career continuum and face-to-face post-school learning is vital with a focus on regionally led solutions and career job support and pastoral support.

The RSLG advocates for strengthened careers advice and bringing stakeholders together to design and implement a purpose-built careers advice ecosystem for Tāmaki Makaurau including ‘by and for’ structures for Māori and other groups disadvantaged in the labour market.

The RSLG supports Māori-led delivery of support and pastoral care to rangatahi and whānau to make subject and employment pathway choices, understanding future workforce opportunities.

The RSLG will review the recommendations from the Youth Employment Action Plan and will incorporate these, where appropriate, into the ongoing work of the RSLG.

Expected outcomes

  • Reduce the potential for those disengaged through COVID-19 from becoming the long-term unemployed in the next downturn
  • Māori and Pacific workforce is able to access education and training and attain decent work
  • Working leads to a better standard of living
  • Careers service delivery that leads to careers not just jobs.

Youth Employment Action Plan – Setting our young people on a strong pathway to fulfilling working lives [PDF, 725 KB]

Key stakeholders

  • Iwi and Māori
  • Auckland Unlimited
  • Business and industry (especially those in retail and distribution)
  • Disability support groups
  • Ministry of Education
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • Pasifika community
  • Secondary schools
  • South and West Auckland Schools
  • Tāmaki 10,000
  • Te Puni Kōkiri
  • Te Pūkenga
  • Tertiary Education Commission
  • Trade Unions
  • Workforce Development Councils

Ethnic communities, former refugees and recent migrants – Fostering the region’s recent migrants as potential future workforce

The RSLG advocates workplaces to make the most of Auckland's increasingly diverse workforce by establishing practices of pay equity, recognition of prior education and work experience and most of all freedom of cultural expression, fairness and human dignity across workforce operations and supply chains.

The RSLG promotes skills and entrepreneurial support initiatives, including career guidance to be given to former refugees, recent migrants and ethnic communities for enhanced labour market participation.

The RSLG supports more accessible opportunities for English language courses for ethnic communities and migrants.

The RSLG will review the recommendations of the Former Refugees, Recent Migrants and Ethnic Communities Employment Action Plan and incorporate those, where appropriate, into the ongoing work of the RSLG.

The RSLG supports community and government-led initiatives, including recognition of relevant skills and experience, and support for the recent Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment report on eliminating worker exploitation.

Modern slavery and worker exploitation

Expected outcomes

  • Successful resettlement of ethnic communities
  • Reduction in bias into and through employment
  • Skills maximised in employment
  • Potential productivity increase.

Key stakeholders

  • Auckland Chamber of Commerce
  • Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS)
  • Auckland Unlimited
  • Chinese New Settlers Services Trust (CNSST)
  • Migrant Action Trust
  • Unemig – FIRST Union
  • Waitākere Refugee Services

Disabled New Zealanders – Fostering an inclusive workforce for people with disabilities

Actions

Timeframe: Short-medium term

The RSLG supports the establishment of employment working groups for different disabilities to address specific needs for each group and as a way of facilitating good employer responses for the region.

The RSLG promotes support for young people with disabilities to receive the same education opportunities as other New Zealanders.

The RSLG advocates that the education sector is aware of the critical levers that will stop young people with disabilities in New Zealanders from accessing education.

The RSLG has committed to supporting the Working Matters Disability Employment Action Plan, which is an all-of-government Action Plan that aims to help ensure an inclusive economic recovery from COVID-19 where people with disabilities and people with health conditions can participate in employment as they want to, on an equal basis. In addition, develop a robust understanding of the needs of people with disabilities in Tāmaki Makaurau based on the Working Matters Disability Employment Action Plan.

Working Matters: Disability employment action plan(external link) — Ministry of Social Development

Expected outcomes

  • Support people to steer their own employment futures
  • Back people who want to work and employers with the right support
  • Partner with industry to increase good work opportunities people with disabilities and health conditions 
  • Government support to help workplaces put necessary equipment/tools/resources in place to have more disabled people access employment
  • Increase number of disabled school leavers accessing employment straight form school.

Key stakeholders

  • Auckland Council 
  • Employer Organisations
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • Tāmaki 10,000
  • Trade Unions

Older people – Supporting older people to remain in the workforces

Action

Timeframe: Medium-long term

The RSLG advocates for initiatives that maintain employability of older workers in the region’s workforce.

The RSLG supports regional initiatives that will move the mindsets of employers to embrace older workers as an asset rather than a liability.

The RSLG promotes supporting and protecting the welfare and wellbeing of older people in the workplace across Tāmaki Makaurau.

The RSLG will review the recommendations from the recently released Older Workers Employment Action Plan and incorporate these, where appropriate, into the ongoing work of the RSLG.

Older Workers Employment Action Plan [PDF, 926 KB](external link) —  Office for Seniors

Expected outcomes 

  • Support people to steer their own employment futures
  • Back people who want to work and employers with the right support.

Key stakeholders

  • Auckland Council
  • Employer Organisations
  • Ministry of Social Development
  • Tāmaki 10,000