Last year 14 percent of Māori learners on the National Qualifications Framework earned credits through industry training organisations. Māori and Pacific peoples now account for nearly a quarter of people participating in industry training - nearly double the figure of five years ago.

As the Framework has grown so has the number of industries that offer work-place training. There are now more than 22,000 employers offering work-place training across almost every industry in the economy, with most industries offering multiple qualifications.

Industry training in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, the service sector and computing are all growth areas for Māori trainees.

Qualifications that grow on trees

Ribbonwood is a forest harvesting contracting company, based in the central North Island town of Tokoroa. Manager of safety and training, Paul Squire believes the company is the most proactive with regard to training than any he has been associated with in the past 22 years. The company is keen to take on apprentices, but Paul insists they must have a good work attitude as crews are dependent on one another to 'pull their weight' and look out for each other.

(Standing) Paul Squire, Lorraine Uatuku (Raukawa), Rick Te Whiu (Tainui); (kneeling) Rowena Kidwell (Raukawa), Ron Hirawani (Tainui)

Rick Te Whiu (Tainui) has been working in the forest industry for the past 21 years. He also works in a harvesting crew and holds a National Certificate in Forest Establishment and Silviculture and is hoping to complete the National Certificate in Forest Harvesting level 3 this year. He maintains he's still learning after all these years and his long-term goal is to complete a National Certificate in Forestry Operations Management. Rick is a registered workplace assessor for the Forest Industry Training Organisation.

Girl power at Ribbonwood

Rowena Kidwell (Raukawa)
A qualified log-maker and mother of four, Rowena completed a pre-employment course in forestry, which she says was a big factor in getting employment at Ribbonwoods. Rowena has completed a National Certificate in Forestry Havesting and is keen to gain further qualifications in mechanical harvesting so she can operate skidders and log haulers. Rowena was on the DPB but wanted to work and enjoys working with 'the guys'. Although she has only been working in the forest industry for three years, her long-term goal is to gain management experience and become a partner in a forest harvesting company.

Lorraine Uatuku (Raukawa)
Also a qualified log-maker, Lorraine celebrated the birth of her ninth child a year ago and worked in her crew right up to two weeks before having her baby. Lorraine comes from a family of 'bushmen' and completed a full-time programme in practical logging before entering employment in the forest industry six years ago. She hopes to complete the National Certificate in Forest Harvesting by the end of this year. Lorraine is the 'Safety Champion' in her crew. In this role her responsibilities include all on-site health and safety, a daily workplace safety assessment, hazard identification and regular safety meetings with her crew.

Qualifications to support a community

	From left to right: Bill Broughton, Tracey Robinson, Hinekahu Gotty, Ella Kauri-Davis (Manager, Te Runanga O Raukawa). The first three are social workers (iwi kaimahi)

Manager, Ella Kauri-Davis believes education is important on a person's life-long journey. "Being able to access opportunities to education in the work-place and having work valued, whether paid or not, is one of the huge advantages of industry training."

Ella has three trainees working towards completing their Diploma in Social Services level 6.

The three trainees all have extensive work experience in the broad area of social work working among Ngati Raukawa.

Tracey Robinson worked at Child, Youth and Family prior to her current position at Te Runanga O Raukawa. Tracey says the support provided by her employer, colleagues and staff from the industry training organisation (Te Kaiawhina Ahumahi) has helped her to achieve national qualifications. "Te Kaiawhina Ahumahi provides a clear process for me to collect evidence of my prior skills and knowledge," says Tracey.

Hinekahu Gotty holds a Diploma in Hapu Development from Te Wananga O Raukawa and is simultaneously completing a degree in Hapu Development and the National Diploma in Social Services. Being able to gain national qualifications while working is a distinct advantage over full-time study for Hinekahu. She is able to maintain a full-time income and finds the learning is always related to work and the assessment process is open and transparent.

Bill Broughton has a background in education and training, and in the mental health field. He says the trends in the labour market restructure over the past 20 years has put pressure on the social services, with people moving out of redundant industries and into new ones. Being able to gain new skills and qualifications in line with work demands is an advantage of completing qualifications on-the-job, says Bill. An added bonus is that assessment and learning can be structured around family commitments.

Working together Tracey, Hinekahu and Bill say they are able to support each other through the learning process.

Down on the farm in Southland

Suzanne Toomey, Regional Training Manager for the Agriculture ITO, says an increase in dairy herds in Southland has led to increased demand for trained staff, particularly staff with herd-management experience. Suzanne says many people don't realise that managers of herds of 1000 cows are responsible for a business that can be worth approximately $4-5 million dollars. It is critical that these managers have the appropriate skills and knowledge to manage this sized business properly.

Tamati Paki and Suzanne Toomey: Regional Training Manager for the Agriculture ITO

Tamati's goals are to complete this current national qualification and obtain a herd manager position, responsible for a large herd. To achieve this goal he will need to complete the National Certificate in Production Management.