Rangatahi renovations build connection and career pathways

When George began fully renovating an ex-Kāinga Ora home, he had already honed his landscaping skills at our large-scale developments.

It was by joining Ama Training – a youth training provider and partner through our Construction Plus programme – that he found these opportunities.

George

“Ama just made me feel like I was home. I'd found my whānau,” George says.

Two years ago, aged 16, he had been “going through hard times” and wanted to change his life around. George’s auntie introduced him to Ama, where he met Managing Director Mike Murray.

“Before, I didn't know where I came from – I didn’t know anything of my iwi – and when I spoke to Mike about it, he helped me. I found out we came from the same iwi.”

Now 18, George is one of a 15-member Ama Training crew, guided by construction partners Stronghold Group, working to fully renovate a home provided through the Kāinga Ora relocation programme.

For Nigel Chandra, Construction Plus Manager at Kāinga Ora, providing experiences like these are a key reason for relocating older homes.

“It creates the opportunity for them to build capacity so students can take some big steps and get experience on a journey that can take them to some big places,” he says.

Nigel works as a “connector” between Kāinga Ora and providers like Ama Training, so they can keep delivering on their objectives for youth.

“I knew that that this opportunity would only enhance the kaupapa of Construction Plus, which is providing that connection for education and training opportunities for our communities.

“If we're able to connect our communities to opportunities for social and economic uplift, we may not see the outcome today but it could be an outcome that we may see in two years, five years or 20 years’ time,” he says.

“And I think that's what it's all about.”

‘Everyone deserves a roof over their head’

About 25 kilometres from Ama Training’s work site, One Tree Hill College student Megan takes on a similar project to George.

Megan

The two teens are the same age but have never met. What they share is a connection through their mahi – the homes being restored by Ama Training and One Tree Hill College all came from the same street and were relocated to enable new housing through Mangere Development.

Macular dystrophy affects the centre of Megan’s vision, but the condition has been no barrier as she learns hands-on skills. She is one of 60 students restoring another former Kāinga Ora home as part One Tree Hill College’s trades programme.

“A lot of people have been helping me, so it's been lots of fun,” Megan says.

“The experience that I’ve had here has been very welcoming and no-one judges.”

For Megan, working on a former Kāinga Ora home adds another layer of connection.

“I personally think that everyone deserves a roof over their head, no matter if they have a job or not,” she says.

“Where I used to live, my family lost their jobs and we ended up living in a Kāinga Ora home. I thought it was great because they got to work with the people who gave the house to them, and they managed to get back onto their feet.”

Opportunities for our communities

Already, these homes have shown their potential to create pathways for the rangatahi involved.

At One Tree Hill College, Megan secured additional work experience in interior design and has enrolled to study at Manukau Institute of Technology. Other students have taken on placements in carpentry and are working towards apprenticeships.

Over at Ama, the team is finding similar outcomes for its members.

“The rangatahi that have come through this programme, already we've been able to employ,” says Karalee Tangiau, Managing Director at Stronghold Group – Ama Training’s construction partner for this project.

“We've got one that started full-time within our company and that's been great for us because we can see the work ethic they applied here and now that's transferred out there into the building industry.”

Charlotte McKeon, Head of Trades at One Tree Hill College, says the experiences from a project like this can offer students an “amazing choice”.

“We’re on the academic pathway, so coming through with these-real life experiences gives students a chance to try it before they buy it,” she says.

“And I think that that is just incredible.”