Strengthening careers and building quality homes

The two 3-bedroom freestanding and six 2-bedroom terraced houses are not only homes for whānau in need, but they also provided real life learning experiences for local secondary school students and nine apprentices throughout the construction.

The homes were designed to follow the contours of the land with split level living areas, plenty of natural light and outdoor areas with storage for tenants. However, Patrick Dougherty, General Manager Construction and Innovation, says it is the education opportunities that the Kāinga Ora teams involved are particularly proud of.

“It’s not easy to decide on a career path when you’re still in school, so whenever possible we help our build partners connect with local schools and host visits for students interested in a career in the construction sector,” he says.

“The Kāinga Ora apprenticeship programme works with build partners, training and pastoral care providers to help kiwis into a mix of trades. In the 12 months ending June 2024 our teams helped 262 people into apprenticeships.”

Head contractor for the Mount Roskill development, Precision Construction, currently employs 26 apprentices. During the build of the eight homes on nearly 1600m² of land, their apprentices worked on build elements that might normally be subcontracted out. They also had exposure to construction management activities like critical path planning, purchasing, leading prestart meetings and quality assurance.

Kāinga Ora also helped Precision Construction connect with two local secondary schools and ten final year students visited the development site during key build milestones. Two of the students worked alongside the construction team for a total of 12 days during the build.

Precision Construction Chief Executive Quentin Quin explains “Our business has a strong focus on helping build a strong and qualified construction workforce. We support build projects to help our apprentices get the full exposure to the construction process. Two of our apprentices achieved their qualifications during this build and were fantastic at hosting school students under the Ministry of Education Gateway programme – it was a really positive experience for all involved.

“Quality homes have been built, more of our people have qualified as builders, and there’s local secondary school students now considering construction as a career choice. It’s a full circle and foundation for success that we’re committed to support.

“We’re all pleased with the finished homes and wish the families now living in them a great new start in their Mount Roskill community.”

Read more about Kāinga Ora training and apprenticeships and the new state houses delivered in the last financial year.