Ngā Puna Pūkenga programme

Our Ngā Puna Pukenga programme helps secure work for Aucklanders who find it difficult to get a job in civil construction and related industries. The jobs can vary from entry-level labourers to skilled roles, such as quantity surveyors and project managers.

It is available to everyone, but has a focus on people who face barriers to employment, such as:

• long-term unemployed
• Māori and Pasifika
• people with disabilities
• young people not in employment, education or training
• displaced workers affected by business closures or downsizing
• women entering male-dominated work areas.

Ngā Puna Pūkenga works with:

• large council contractors, such as Fulton Hogan
• small-to-medium industry employers.

Ngā Puna Pūkenga supports employers to offer 'sustainable' employment, which means:

• helping people to stay employed
• offering opportunities for advancement.

Employees in the programme get a living wage or higher and workplace mentoring.

Training and wage subsidies - funded by the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) - also help employers retain and develop new workers. This is prioritised for people on benefits.

Ngā Puna Pūkenga began as a small team within Auckland Council and its success has led to other councils adopting the model. It is currently a partnership between council and the MSD.

Employers enter into an agreement with Ngā Puna Pukenga to hire a new employee and commit to provide permanent or full-time work.

The Ngā Puna Pukenga team, based within council, supports employers with recruitment, integrating the new employee into the company and ongoing support.

Since its launch in 2019, the programme has:

• supported more than 1000 Aucklanders into sustainable employment
• partnered with more than 100 businesses to support their employment needs.

Statistics show that of the people in the programme:

• 80 per cent are still employed after two years
• 70 per cent of original participants still do not receive a government benefit as at May 2024.

The programme aims to help 300 people into jobs by the year ending 30 June 2025. This is 100 more than the previous financial year.

Following an increase in MSD funding of up to $3.8 million this financial year - and the support of the mayor - Ngā Puna Pūkenga is expanding its scope.

The programme will team with Auckland Transport, Watercare, and other council departments to find and work with more industry employers.