The Te Puni Kōkiri Cadetships programme has been found to support outcomes including workforce retention, and a corresponding increase in productivity and revenue. 

These are just some of the findings from the 2024 survey of employers who adopted the Cadetships programme, and the experiences of their cadets.

Te Puni Kokiri Investment Director, Karen McGuinness says Cadetships support employers to enable Māori kaimahi (staff) to have access to higher-levels of education and training, which leads to higher-skilled and meaningful employment.  

“The Cadetships programme helps employers invest in delivering tailored education and training, development, and mentoring programmes for Māori employees.

“The programme aims to support Māori to achieve their full potential in the workplace and contribute to thriving, innovative and resilient businesses,” says Karen.

The survey was completed by employers and their cadets who participated in the programme in 2023/24 and looked at the outcomes experienced as a direct result of running the training and development.

One hundred per cent of the employers that responded to the survey said that Cadetships are beneficial and increased productivity; with 58 per cent saying they had seen increased revenue as a result.

“The ability to focus in other areas of development for the cadets as well as the business, which we wouldn’t have been able to do without the Cadetships, has given our ‘fledging’ status,” says one employer.

“There has been a clear capability build around how well people at the cadet- graduate level show up, with regard to confidence, independent work, readiness to take on increased responsibilities and to perform. The programme enabled significant boosting of Māori representation in the workforce,” says another employer.

Cadets who responded to the survey say participating in the workplace training and development programmes offered invaluable opportunities for professional development, mentorship, and enabled meaningful contributions to organisational objectives.

Ninety-seven per cent improved skills or gained qualifications; 70 per cent said their career advanced; and 52 per cent gained a pay increase.

Cadets also describe improved hauora (wellbeing), and more broadly the positive impacts on their whānau and communities.

“It has impacted my whānau in many ways, by being able to further my career and provide for my kids, being a role model to them,” says one cadet.

Another commented: “My kids see me prioritise study, which has helped them be more diligent with their homework. We can sit together and complete our work.”

Both employers and cadets reported greater connection to whakapapa, te ao Māori, and te reo, and community connections.

Find out more about the Te Puni Kokiri Cadetships programme here.

Summary of survey findings

• Nineteen employers who ran a Cadetships programme in 2023/24 completed the survey. One hundred per cent said the programme was beneficial and increased productivity; 79 per cent had a strategic business shift as a result of the programme; and 58 per cent of employers saw an increase in revenue.
• Of the 71 cadets surveyed: 97 per cent increased skills or gained new qualifications; 70 per cent of cadets advanced their career as a result of the programme; and 52 per cent of cadets had salary increases.
• The survey of employers and cadets was anonymised.
• Click here for a summary of survey results.

Attached Files

• 2023 24 Cadetship survey results