May 26, 2023
Bias blocks Māori from moving up logistics chain
Hanga-Aro-Rau, the workforce development council for the manufacturing, engineering and logistics industries, says there are 4700 unfilled jobs in the freight and logistics sector, and that’s set to climb to 18,000 workers by 2028 without immediate intervention.
It says the sector is highly fragmented and over the past two years has lost thousands of employees to other industries and lucrative overseas roles over the past two years.
A study done for the council also uncovered evidence of discrimination and pay inequity within the sector – creating barriers to career progression for wāhine and Pacific peoples, in particular.
It found targeted training programmes helped boost the number of Māori in higher skill level roles to 27 percent, but the equivalent proportion for Pacific workers grew just 3 percent over the past decade.
Deputy chief executive Samantha McNaughton says firms new automation technologies are changing the nature of the roles within the industry, are creating opportunities for a more gender and culturally diverse workforce including the entry of more disabled workers into the sector.
The industry is now looking to attract gamers who have the skills needed to operate the new automation, robotic and drone technologies which are expected to be adopted in the future.