Northpower cadets have overnight visit at marae
New apprentices to electricity company Northpower have been sent on a marae visit to give them a stronger connection to the Northland community.
Northpower has teamed up with NorthTec to provide this ‘‘cultural connection’’ training to their newest cohort of cadets.
Northpower has 14 new cadets who have begun their training, working towards a trade role in either line mechanics, arboriculture, or electrical maintenance.
The cadetship is an eight-week programme that will then transition the new employees into a two-year apprenticeship in their chosen trade.
All of them attended a nōho (overnight) marae visit at NorthTec’s marae, Te Puna O Te Mātauranga, designed to help them connect with the local community, culture, and land.
‘‘All of these cadets will go on to serve the community in the Whangā rei area,’’ said Mackenzie Ashby, capability manager at Northpower.
‘‘We want to make sure we are covering the connection to Te Tai Tokerau and mana whenua within their cadetship. It’s about developing connections within the community and gaining an understanding of the culture.’’
Cadets were welcomed onto the marae by NorthTec’s Te Puna team through pō whiri.
‘‘For some cadets, this will be their first pō whiri experience and their first time on a marae,’’ Mackenzie said.
‘‘It’s a unique experience and it’s great that they can be here in a safe space. It also allows us to develop and maintain our connection with NorthTec.’’
Once on the marae, the manuhiri (visitors) were treated to a dinner before cleaning up and setting out bedding for the night.
Then the real work began. Short wānanga on whakawhanaungatanga, marae tikanga, group work, and mahi-aringaringa were interspersed with waiata. All of this was facilitated by NorthTec’s Te Puna team.
‘‘The importance of this cultural experience for the Northpower cadets begins at the marae with hearing te reo Mā ori spoken in the speeches of welcome, and participation in the karakia and singing waiata,’’ said Matua
Taipari Munroe, Te Amorangi – NorthTec.
‘‘There was the experience of communal living and working collaboratively as a team.’’
Breakfast was a joint effort the next day before the cadets were off to explore the area and connect with culturally significant locations across Tai Tokerau.
‘‘The venture out into the field took the cadets to places of cultural significance, places many of them would have already been familiar with, the difference now being Te Puna has shared that view through a Mā ori lens with the aid of tribal narratives,’’ Munroe said.
‘‘We have been operating in the area for 92 years,’’ says Northpower chief executive Andrew Mcleod.
‘‘We have deep roots in the area and value our continued connection to Te Tai Tokerau.’’