Developing engineering as a career path for Māori

J Hurley (Aurecon New Zealand Ltd), A Ngātuere (Toi Kai Rawa)

It is commonly understood across the engineering profession that there is a lack of diversity within our industry. While there has been some progress made in the gender diversity area, there is still a significant lack of Māori voice, which is of concern given the legal status of the Treaty of Waitangi and the expectation that our industry liaise with mana whenua on water projects.

Aurecon, like many other engineering consultancies, offers its employees the opportunity to give time to the community as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. Driven by a desire to give back to our community as well as improve our in-house knowledge and understanding, Aurecon has partnered with Priority One and Toi Kai Rawa to support a local special character school in Tauranga - Te Wharekura o Mauao - and introduce engineering as a real opportunity for their students.

This initiative started in 2021 and will see our young professional engineers providing tutoring for students in STEM related subjects as well as real life examples of what an engineer does day to day. This includes providing an understanding of how important Māori views are in engineering, especially within the waters space, and how young Māori can be involved in a profession where they can learn skills that will enable them to give back to their iwi.

This initiative will also be beneficial to Aurecon staff who will receive the opportunity to engage with Māori and develop further understanding of te ao Māori by building relationships with local whānau and learning new perspectives.

The paper presents the background of the journey to date and lessons learned during the development of the program.