| 71 Parata Contracting CONTRACTING PGF funding helps to develop local workforce T Sue Russell Employees taken on through the Parata Contracting Workforce Development Project are trained in Hamilton or in Gisborne. Kat Kaiwai, Managing Director and Operations Manager of Parata Contracting Ltd, based out of Ruatoria, says the last few years have been a really interesting time for development of the company, which registered in 2017. The company works in the area of roading and civil construction and since receiving funding through the Provincial Growth Fund resourcing has ventured into training and supporting new local people to get involved in the busy sector. Kat has been involved in roading for about 11 years and saw a gap up in the East Coast for a smaller company to engage local workers, upskilling them in the process as well as providing a meaningful career path. “Unless you were a Tier 1 company there wasn’t much opportunity to get into the industry so I thought if we introduced a training element to attract local young people and could receive funding for this, then it would be a really worthwhile business.” Prior to joining Parata Contracting Ltd, Kat had worked for Fulton Hogan and started a drainage crew and then accrued skills in people and traffic management and had also gathered a group of contacts in the region; good connections to find a foot in the door on roading projects going on in the district. When the Provincial Growth Fund identified the region’s roading network as a suitable project to receive funding Kat created the Parata Contracting Workforce Development Project, to access some of this funding. It’s a two-year civic infrastructure workforce development programme for new employees, targeting potential works from as far as Tolaga Bay. Employees taken through the Workforce Development Project are trained in Hamilton or in Gisborne and Kat says this is really worthwhile for them as they get a taste of all the various disciplines that roading infrastructure contains. “We recruit school-leavers and people previously unemployed and give them a career path.” Goal-setting is an integral part of the Development Project and these are reviewed every four months, to see if the individual is enjoyed and engaged in the work they are doing. “Often someone will start with an idea they would like to have a specific role and then discover they enjoy another aspect entirely and we are all for this. We want them to have meaningful employment, something they enjoy going to each day.” Fortunately, with one year of the Development Project under their belt Kat says Parata Contracting has been able to retain a lot of the trainees they have put through the courses. “Because they live up here and don’t want to move away it works perfectly.” One of the things Kat says is really great about working in the roading industry is how much co-operation occurs between company’s. Often a large company, such as Fulton Hogan will be awarded a contract and then sub-contract out to smaller companies. Parata Contracting Ltd has just been NZTA Prequalified, a process that involves a lot of evidence-based referencing. “You have to show the quality of the work you’ve undertaken on various projects and this is then assessed by NZTA.” Kat also looks after running other contractor’s jobs as well and for most days during the week is out on sites, overseeing the crews activities. For Kat, the benefits that have flowed from being able to access the PGF has changed the direction of the company in ways that will bring meaningful development for the region she is so proud to call home. And plans ahead include getting into roading maintenance and to assist this, Kat has taken herself off to school and is getting towards the business end of completing her Civil Works Level 4. “It will give me and the company another tool in the tool-box. We’re very focused on creating a sustainable pathway to ensure the company continues to thrive.” The big boys for big toys Earthmoving repairs and maintenance 269 Grey Street • Phone 06 868 5280 heavyequip@xtra.co.nz HEAVY EQUIPMENT SERVICES Ltd. parts & services
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