Kotahitanga - Partnering with business and Industy - Opportunities to partner with us

Mana in Mahi helping young people into jobs

Our new industry partnership ‘Mana in Mahi – Strength in Work’ was launched by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in August. It aims to help young New Zealanders get valuable, sought-after skills and qualifications that can get them into a real job.

Employers can receive a wage subsidy through Mana in Mahi to help with the cost of hiring a young person and supporting them to learn new skills and gain qualifications.

We’ve already started working with four employers – Downer Group, Vivo Hair and Beauty, Wellington Hospitality Group and the Wairarapa Moana Incorporation – and we’re keen for others to come on board.

Deputy Chief Executive Service Delivery Viv Rickard says Mana in Mahi can change people’s lives and demonstrates the positive effect training and a job can have on a young person.

“Mana enables young people to take control of their lives, make their own decisions and meet expectations, obligations and responsibilities. Mahi means to work, to do, and accomplish. So it is fitting that our new identity incorporates the poutama stepped pattern of tukutuku panels– symbolising genealogies and the various levels of learning and intellectual achievement – taking hold of your future,” he says.

Mana in Mahi shows how one change, and the possibility of building a future, can give a young person an opportunity – and the wider influence that change has on their whānau and the community. It’s about building a long term future for our young people and a better economy.

For more information visit the Mana in Mahi website or if you know potential employers or young people you think might be interested, get them in touch with an MSD work broker on 0800 778 008 or at Mana_in_Mahi@msd.govt.nz

SuperGold Card partnership growing in strength

A growing number of businesses and organisations are taking part in the SuperGold Card programme which is run by MSD.

The programme has now grown to include 9,200 businesses and around 14,000 outlets nationwide.

The card’s discounts and concessions programme for those aged over 65 has been going for 11 years.

There are now more than 740,000 cardholders across the country and around 60,000 new cardholders join every year. It is projected that, with the current demographic trends, it will hit the million mark in around 2028.

Research done recently by MSD around cardholders’ expectation and motivation revealed the discount areas most valued by seniors.

Two themes came out strongly – one was health-related, which included optical, dental and hearing, while the other was around basic living costs such as utility bills and food. This was followed by discounts in retail, on petrol and travel, and on entertainment.

Consumer spending by people aged 65 and over amounted to $21 billion in 2016. That is expected to rise to $94 billion by 2061.

To find out more about joining the programme, freephone 0800 25 45 65 or email businesspartners@supergold.govt.nz

Caption: SuperGold Card key account manager Tim Bryers with Florence Shearman – the organiser of a recent seminar in Cambridge.