Future focussed skills: Growth opportunities for Māori and Pasifika owned businesses in greener construction
This report, commissioned by ConCOVE, Amotai, and Poutama Trust, provides a focused analysis of the future workforce skills needed for Māori and Pasifika-owned businesses in New Zealand’s construction sector. The goal for this project was to identify actionable and aspirational skill areas that enable these businesses to capitalise on emerging green construction and infrastructure technologies.
The analysis began with the development of a comprehensive longlist of 54 potential opportunities, which demonstrates the wide-ranging opportunities that exist across a broad range of trades and sectors. These opportunities were assessed through multi-criteria analysis, which evaluated their alignment with current capabilities, barriers to entry, demand/growth potential, and the ability to support high-skill, high-paying jobs as well as their suitability for vocational training. This process allowed us to identify a shortlist of high-potential focus areas that offer the greatest alignment with Māori and Pasifika business capability while maintaining low barriers to entry.
Four high-potential focus areas emerged from this process: Trenchless technologies, Building Information Modelling (BIM) for trades, commercial building energy retrofits, and the installation of renewable consumer energy resources (CER). These shortlisted focus areas were analysed in more detail, exploring the demand, potential benefits, and barriers to adoption within the New Zealand context as well as identifying key system players, and industry partnerships crucial for success.
Across the focus areas, shared barriers include the upfront costs associated with specialised equipment, the need for targeted training and certification, and navigating regulatory requirements. Reassuringly, the opportunities allow for incremental adoption, with businesses able to build capabilities over time if required.
These findings serve as a foundation for developing training programs and business cases to position Māori and Pasifika businesses at the forefront of New Zealand’s construction sector’s green transformation. By targeting both immediate and long-term opportunities, Māori and Pasifika businesses can leverage sustainable innovation to drive economic growth while also creating positive social and environmental change for their communities.
