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Maori and Pasifika Trades Training Auckland is backing an effort to get more women into the trades.
Project manager Kirk Sargent says wahine are starting to break into what has traditionally been a male-dominated sector, and many employers are welcoming diversity in their teams.
Last year 23 percent of the organisation’s trainees were women and it’s aiming to up that to 40 percent in the next four years.
To give it a boost it is backing a Women in Trades Conference, focusing on opportunities for women.
MPTT Auckland is a consortium that includes Manukau Institute of Technology, Unitec, Te Wananga o Aotearoa, Hawkins Group, Ngati Whatua Orakei Whai Maia, and a range of other agencies and industry training organisations.
Board member and keynote speaker Nancy McConnell from Hawkins Group says the trades offer a wide variety of jobs as well as the potential to work for yourself.
She says success for both men and women is not only about being a competent in the trade but about having good communication, problem solving skills and being able to work as a team.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
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