Preparing for a brown future:

Rethinking approaches to the Pacific workforce in NZ

Greetings and thanks

• Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Kia orana, Ni sa bula, halo lo iufala

• Declaration– The view of an interested newcomer – Research Associate with Macmillan Brown

Centre/Independent Consultant

– Interested in discussion with results

Outline of the presentation

• Observations– Pacific will become more mainstream– Culture will continue to be critical

• Model– Careers approach– Current brown for future brown– Shaping industry

• Motivation– Action research – smart piloting

Observation 1:The Pacific as mainstream

• Size – projected 482k by 2026

• Demographic (natural increase, median age of 24.5)

• Visibility (media, sports, professions)

• Workforce: in 2026 there will be 272,000 in 15-64 age range

Youth of Pacific

populations =

continued contribution to the workforce

past 2026

Observation 2:Culture as critical

Observation 2:Culture as critical

• Cultural concerns dominate Pacific policy and programming

• Culture and identity ARE Pacific concerns

• Cultural “handles” and cultural approaches will continue to be important

2026 and beyond

• A Pacific mainstream– Size

– Youth– Public recognition

• A Brown workforce to be reckoned with– Size– Capability– Familiarity

Anticipatory moves: a model

Unique opportunities exist to build towards this future in an anticipatory way

• Careers approach– The individual as the focus – using built in

cultural “handles”

• Leveraging the current brown workforce– Engaging with Pacific professionals now

• Shaping industry – Preparing for the 20% (and more)

Careers Approach

• Unique policy vehicle:– Delivered on an individual basis

– Inherently tied to work– Integrated to life long engagement

• Difficult to “miss” culture– Careers services need to engage “as-is” – Cultural issues are immediate, ongoing and

integral

Leveraging the current brown workforce

• Private sector

• Public sector

• Tertiary institutions

• Engaging with the “professional community”

Shaping industry

• A mainstream Pacific must be a mainstream factor for industry

• A youthful Pacific is an opportunity for industry

• A culturally literate Pacific is an opportunity for a globalising economy

Questions:

• What sort of “gain” is there to be gained from an integrated approach?

• How much leverage is possible from the current brown workforce?

• What sorts of approaches would most motivate industry, and what sort of industries are most motivated by the future Brown workforce?

Tenkiu tumas nao

Especially:

Robert Nicole

Amanaki Misa