Mentors make 'big difference'

SkillMe carpentry students Jamie Buckeridge, 18, and Jakz Tamati, 33, say Ngati Whakaue mentoring and support has made full-time study easier. Photo / Supplied

An iwi-based mentoring and support programme is making a major difference for local Maori and Pasifika trade training students.

Te Taumata o Ngati Whakaue Iho Ake Trust is providing pastoral care for Waiariki Institute of Technology students in an effort to improve Maori and Pasifika course completion rates, and increase the numbers entering trade apprenticeships.

First-year carpentry student Jamie Buckeridge said the extra support had made the commitment to full-time study much easier.

"They help us a lot," he said.

"They get us to class on time each day and, even before my course started, they helped me with getting a birth certificate and dealing with Study Link."

Te Taumata o Ngati Whakaue Iho Ake pastoral care kaiarahi (mentor) Lorraine Hall said the iwi support covered everything from transporting students to and from their courses through to helping them deal with non-study related personal issues.

"It's about building relationships with the students so they feel comfortable to ask for help.

"We aim to provide a wrap-around support system that ensures safety and well-being for our students within their homes and the classroom environment."

The Ngati Whakaue mentoring programme is part of a SkillMe Maori and Pasifika Trade Training initiative for 18 to 34-year-olds, which also offers course fee scholarships, tool grants and driver licence reimbursements.

SkillMe is a collaboration between Te Taumata o Ngati Whakaue Iho Ake Trust, Waiariki Institute of Technology, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, and the Taumarunui Community Kokiri Trust.

Funded by the Tertiary Education Commission and Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, the SkillMe initiative operates in Whakatane, Rotorua, Tokoroa, Taupo and Taumarunui, covering courses in carpentry, automotive, collision repair, electrical, welding and fabrication, and fitting and turning.

Funding extends te reo reach

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, the Maori Language Commission, is encouraging Rotorua individuals, community groups, marae, hapu, whanau and organisations to apply for funding from the Ma te Reo fund for Maori language revitalisation initiatives.

For the past 14 years, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori, through the Ma te Reo fund, has supported more than 1500 projects, including whanau-produced resources, iwi and hapu language books and glossaries, wananga (language learning classes), kura reo (immersion language programmes), and special events encouraging Maori language use for such things as story-telling sessions for children.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori acting chief executive Tuehu Harris said the fund - the only one of its kind - provided a critical opportunity for locally driven and locally focused Maori language initiatives to gain support, and build on growing language proficiency in the regions.

"Whether it is holding wananga whaikorero, karanga ... the fund's criterion is flexible enough to accommodate most initiatives.

"Many iwi-based organisations have sought Ma te Reo assistance as they work to revive and maintain their own iwi and hapu-led Maori language strategies."

¦Register to the fund at www.funding.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz