About
In the beginning..
Long story short, it all started over a coffee at a local café in Caversham, Dunedin called Kuku Coffee. This
meeting was between Pacific Trust Otago (“PTO”) team members, Lloyd Ma’ole (GM) and Viola Huch (Tupu
Aotearoa Employment and Training Navigator) with Haley McManus (Education to Employment Broker at My
Next Move) and Sarah Rose, Regional Labour Market Advisor, Ministry of Social Development).
We had recently attended a Career Expo in Dunedin for Secondary Schools, and as we looked around the room
there were only one or two pacific professionals. So, we decided to challenge ourselves and create a career
event for our pasifika youth where we invited pasifika professionals to advocate their profession, whom the
youth would be able to resonate with. Our focus is to help our youth align their interests and passions with a
career pathway, create an environment where pasifika youth feel inspired to dream big and explore all
different types of career opportunities, by engaging directly with pasifika people in those careers.
“If you can see it, you can be it.”
Our planning has involved running workshops with pacific youth via Pacific Trust Otago’s holiday program. We
also brought youth onto the planning committee and where possible consult with our youth to make sure what
is being created is for our youth and be for them.
meeting was between Pacific Trust Otago (“PTO”) team members, Lloyd Ma’ole (GM) and Viola Huch (Tupu
Aotearoa Employment and Training Navigator) with Haley McManus (Education to Employment Broker at My
Next Move) and Sarah Rose, Regional Labour Market Advisor, Ministry of Social Development).
We had recently attended a Career Expo in Dunedin for Secondary Schools, and as we looked around the room
there were only one or two pacific professionals. So, we decided to challenge ourselves and create a career
event for our pasifika youth where we invited pasifika professionals to advocate their profession, whom the
youth would be able to resonate with. Our focus is to help our youth align their interests and passions with a
career pathway, create an environment where pasifika youth feel inspired to dream big and explore all
different types of career opportunities, by engaging directly with pasifika people in those careers.
“If you can see it, you can be it.”
Our planning has involved running workshops with pacific youth via Pacific Trust Otago’s holiday program. We
also brought youth onto the planning committee and where possible consult with our youth to make sure what
is being created is for our youth and be for them.