Māori scholarship sparks interest in digital sector

March 15, 2018

Māori scholarship sparks interest in digital sector

Dougal Stott. Photo: Supplied

A Government-funded scholarship to get Māori into the digital sector is receiving an “amazing” reaction, says an education provider.

While it was too early to judge the Te Uru Rangi Scholarship’s success, Dougal Stott, the kāiawhina Māori of Enspiral Dev Academy, which offers the scholarship, said a Facebook post advertising it last year was still the organisation's best performing social media post.

“The reaction to it has been amazing,” said Mr Stott.

The scholarship provides financial aid to Māori students to develop digital skills, including coding, website building and programming, skills needed in the ICT sector, which has high numbers of job vacancies.

Mr Stott said admissions at the academy were increasing, with students embracing the opportunity “to share their uniqueness as Māori".

With recent StatsNZ numbers highlighting Māori unemployment is nearly double the national average, Mr Stott said the scholarship was designed to combat low Māori presence in the predominantly “white middle-class industry” and enable Māori to have a huge impact on “the digital economy on a whole".

Kawena Jones, a Tainui iwi employment adviser, said ICT had become a focus for iwi recently, noting a partnership with Infometrics which showed that in five to 10 years it would be one of the most “prevalent industries in the Waikato".

The scholarship, introduced in 2015 by then Minister of Māori Development Te Ururoa Flavell, is supported by the Government’s Ka Hao Māori Digital Technology Development fund, which was allocated $30 million under the 2014 Budget.

Applications for the next round of funding ended this week, with the Ministry of Māori Development looking for more initiatives that will create high-value jobs and opportunities that advance Māori in digital technologies, according to the Ministry’s website.

Mr Stott said the scholarship showed the worth of Government funding, as well as support from iwi and the business community.

Hori Te Ariki Mataki, of Ariki Creative, another organisation supported by the Ka Hao fund, said the fund helped his business develop resources for Māori in schools with a “digital spin,” and hire new interns, giving them a shot in the industry.

Mr Jones said focus was needed on providing opportunities for Māori to develop digital skills and gain jobs in the industry, something Mr Stott and Mr Mataki are confident their projects will help happen.

According to the most recent Māori ICT Report in 2016, Māori have little presence in ICT, with only one per cent of Māori in tertiary training studying ICT, and 7800 employed in the sector in 2013.

While most are employed in lower-skilled ICT occupations, on average Māori in the sector earn $60,000, nearly double the median income of Māori workers.

Recipients of the Ka Hao fund are due to be announced in June.

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