Toi Kai Rawa, the Bay of Plenty’s Māori Economic Development agency, is thrilled to announce the return of the Toi Ki Tua Māori Professional Internship programme for the summer of 2024-25. Toi Ki Tua is a programme that connects Māori university students from the Bay of Plenty, who are studying across the country, with local employers in the Bay of Plenty to grow the region’s skilled talent pipeline for future job opportunities.

With 44 percent of the Bay of Plenty’s future workforce being of Māori descent, this is an initiative that is welcomed by employers across the region. “Recruitment is always challenging, especially when it comes to hiring Māori, says Blanche McMath of Platform Agency, a 2023-24 Toi Ki Tua employer. “As a Māori employer, we realise the benefits of recruiting Māori talent. When you recruit a Māori university student, you get a qualified individual who brings their education, lived experience and prior learning in Te Ao Māori. This ‘and’ factor is a significant advantage for us as employers. As university students, they come with lots of fresh ideas without the barriers or preconceived ideas of having been in the industry. When they feel free and confident to communicate those things, that lifts the whole team. Their prior knowledge of Te Ao Māori, te reo and tīkanga Māori is invaluable, especially for us with a large portfolio of Māori clients. There are amazing benefits to taking on Toi Ki Tua interns, and we had incredible talent to choose from.”

Zoe Kiriwai Ngawaka, a Toi Ki Tua alumnus, has recently returned from the 13^th Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture in Hawaii, where she supported the Māori Kiwifruit Growers contingency in launching their collaborative marketing campaign with Zespri International. Zoe, who now works for Ko Taua Ltd, a horticultural and business advisory firm, credits the Toi Ki Tua programme with her successful transition into the world of professional work. Zoe who undertook a collaborative internship with Zespri, Māori Kiwifruit Growers, and New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers as a Data and Communications Analyst, says the experience provided her with invaluable exposure to the kiwifruit industry, revealing diverse roles beyond the traditional picking and packing tasks. Zoe quickly recognised the importance of networking and relationship-building, skills that she says, are inherently part of Te Ao Māori, and utilised them to secure a role with Apata as an HR Assistant after the internship, and then a permanent job with Ko Taua upon completion of her studies. She says that doing the programme alongside a cohort of other Māori interns gave her a support network, as well as an increased belief that she had a unique viewpoint to offer being Māori in the corporate sector.

This year, the Toi Ki Tua programme is poised for growth, expanding beyond the Primary Industries ecosystem to include the Built Environment, Local Government, and the supporting tech sector; industries that engage extensively with Māori but have low representation of Māori at the professional levels of the sector. If your organisation operates anywhere across these industries, then we encourage you to get involved. With 42 internships, 29 events, and 15 interns that have transitioned into professional opportunities, the Toi Ki Tua programme has proven to be an attractive proposition for tauira Māori across the Bay of Plenty; trusted by students and their whānau to take the utmost care in the support of their rangatahi with proven success.

The Toi Ki Tua Māori Internship runs through the University break from November to February, with recruitment taking place from July through to September.

Employer registrations close 31^st August.

Visit www.toikitua.co.nz for more information or reach out to Katie Hungerford, the Toi Ki Tua Programme Lead, for an initial discussion.