Rotorua school leaver Shael Takao breaks barriers in forestry, thrives in male-dominated field

CMH Contracting crew member Shael (Pihenga) Takao is based in Kaingaroa Forest.

When Shael (Pihenga) Takao left school 18 months ago she had no idea where her future lay – but now she’s cutting a fast track in forestry.

A valued crew member at CMH Contracting, Takao is based in Kaingaroa Forest where she’s mastering the art of quality control, chainsaw operation and digger driving.

She’s also working towards her NZ Certificate in Basic Machine Operation through Competenz, and eventually hopes to move into a silviculture apprenticeship.

“It’s cool being out in the forest and socialising with the crew,” the 19-year-old said.

“When people ask me where I work they’re always surprised and say, ‘That’s a manly job!’ but I never really thought about it like that.

“I’m the youngest in the company and the only female in my crew but everyone looks after me.”

She never envisioned forging a forestry career.

“My cousin was doing a free Level 3 pruning and planting course through Rotomā No. 1 and asked me to do it with her so that she wouldn’t be the only girl.

“The guys were stronger, faster and better than me at doing the pruning in the beginning, but once I learned the techniques I started catching up.”

Rotomā No. 1 is a Māori-owned Bay of Plenty forest estate that focuses on sustainable forestry practices and provides training opportunities and employment pathways for the community.

It’s proven to be the ideal launchpad.

“It was a great transition from school leaver into adulthood – the perfect stepping stone.”

Rotomā No. 1 programme leader Abe Whata said Takao “always showed promise”.

“She didn’t know what she wanted to do but took an opportunity to join our programme which led her to gain qualifications she may not have received elsewhere.

“Consequently, with the help of Competenz, she was introduced to CMH Contracting, and obtained a position in their company as a fulltime employee.

“Rotomā No. 1 takes a by Māori for Māori approach, creating a seamless pathway to employment and partnerships with existing educational providers such as Competenz who guide us to gain unit standard core qualifications,” Whata said.

Competenz training adviser and account manager Hamish Gunn said this collaboration was key to supporting learners to build rewarding careers in forestry.

“Obviously working in a forest and being assessed for forestry unit standards is important but the holistic approach to how the Rotomā No. 1 course is run and the wrap-around support they provide is awesome.”

Gunn introduced Takao to the CMH Contracting team and she hasn’t looked back.

“When Hamish first brought Pihenga out to the site we were meant to take three people to look at the job, but Pihenga was the only one who made the 5am pick up,” Mason said.

“I knew she had a good basic grounding in silviculture from Rotomā No. 1 and we are also really keen to hire females as they have great attention to detail.

“Guys are a bit more ‘as she goes’.”

“The majority of our people are over 50, we have quite a few in their 60s and even have guys in their 70s.

“They’re going to have to retire sooner or later, and we need to develop a strong pipeline of talent to replace them.

“Having well-prepared motivated students, a Competenz account manager that can make things happen, and an employer that’s willing to take a chance and look after someone new to the industry is the key to success.”