The Ministry of Social Development, in partnership with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, is proud to announce a new Pacific Employment Fund has been created for programmes to help build prosperous Pacific communities.
The $7M fund, administered by the Ministry of Social Development and supported by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, will provide funding and support for community-led employment and training to assist Pacific workers get skilled jobs in high growth and sustainable sectors.
This funding continues progress towards the implementation of the Pacific Employment Action Plan by diversifying the Pacific workforce and addressing systemic barriers to employment.
The fund will focus on developing people so they have in-demand skills for careers that will increase their earning potential.
The Ministry of Social Development wants to connect with Pacific providers to work in partnership to design and deliver innovative employment and training programmes for their communities.
This could be a mix of established organisations wanting to expand an existing programme or start a new one, and new organisations needing funding to get started.
For more information and to apply for funding, visit the Ministry of Social Development website.
Minister Aupito William Sio launched the Pacific Employment Action Plan on 30 May 2022.
The Pacific Employment Action Plan sets out how Government will enable Pacific communities’ aspirations for collective prosperity and employment, self-employment, and business ownership.
The Pacific Employment Action Plan supports the four Lalanga Fou goal areas and the vision of Pacific Aotearoa through three strategic objectives:
• Diversifying the Pacific workforce
• Nurturing the vā– addressing systemic barriers
• Building on Pacific entrepreneurship
The Action Plan is one of seven population-specific employment action plans that support the Government’s wider Employment Strategy led by the Minister for Social Development and Employment, Carmel Sepuloni.
The Employment Strategy aims to ensure that people can reach their full potential, find stable work, and have rewarding careers, and it is critical that Pacific people have opportunities to shine.
Through Budget 2022, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples secured additional funding to support the continuation and enhancement of targeted employment and training initiatives for Pacific communities, including: