NZMA marae-based training makes headlines

NZ Plumber Magazine showcases how the partnership between NZMA Trades West and Hoani Waititi Marae is forging pathways for the local community.

NZMA’s partnership with Hoani Waititi Marae Trust is enriching and empowering the communities it serves.

“The NZMA Trades campus based on the Hoani Waititi Marae grounds in Glen Eden, West Auckland, rounds out NZMA’s existing education offering of early childhood, primary and secondary education — providing a skills-based tertiary learning opportunity for its diverse youth and the local community,” says Kylie Wilson, CEO at NZMA.

Partnering with Hoani Waititi Marae

Eynon Delamere, Chairman at Hoani Waititi Marae Trust, says the partnership is part of its strategy to provide educational opportunities for Māori learners and the wider West Auckland community.

Through a tikanga Māori approach to education guided by the marae, NZMA Trades caters to the needs of traditionally underserved learners, which too often represent Māori and Pacific learners.

This unique approach places a significant focus on building trust and mutual understanding with students so they feel ‘they belong, and that they are capable.’ This is especially important for Māori and Pacific learners who may have had a bad experience in high school, or are the first in their families to pursue tertiary education.

Through an establishment of trust, tutors are able to foster unstructured conversations with students to assess the impacts of health and wellbeing on their education outcomes – which rigid adherence to KPIs simply do not allow.

To further promote cultural inclusivity, students are provided with free access te reo Māori language classes and cultural competency education.

Hands-on learners

Literacy and numeracy can be a barrier for learners wanting to enter formal tertiary education.

“Our students are predominantly hands-on learners. For this reason, we ensure students can implement the theory they learn in class through hands-on building projects both on campus and offsite,” says Kylie.

As part of NZMA’s unique curriculum, Trades students have been able to gain practical learning experience as part of the campus rebuild. On-campus projects include the renovation of prefabricated classrooms, the building of permanent classroom structures and a carving workshop (whare tapere).

Read more in NZ Plumber Magazine (February, 2023).

Hoani Waititi Marae based in Glen Eden, West Auckland.