Labour has announced plans to invest $21 million a year in Māori-led training programmes aimed at helping up to 3,000 Māori gain qualifications and move into skilled employment.
The party says it will establish a contestable, grant-based fund enabling marae, iwi trusts and Māori training providers to develop programmes aligned with the needs of local employers.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the policy was intended to improve access to secure, better-paid work for Māori, including rangatahi entering the workforce and people seeking to retrain or change careers.
“Too many Māori are missing out on the security, better pay, and opportunities that come with skilled work,” Hipkins said.
He said Māori unemployment was more than twice the national rate, while around one in five rangatahi Māori were not in work.
Labour pointed to the results of an earlier Māori trades training programme, saying 81 percent of participants who completed it moved into employment and 76 percent achieved a training outcome.
The proposed fund would support practical training alongside mentoring and other assistance intended to help participants complete their qualifications and remain in employment.
Labour’s Māori development spokesperson Willie Jackson said Māori organisations were well placed to identify the needs of both their communities and local industries.
“Marae, iwi, and Māori providers know their communities. They know the employers who need people, and they know what support people need to succeed,” Jackson said.
He said the policy was also focused on improving long-term financial security for Māori workers and their whānau.
The programme would complement Labour’s previously announced proposal to extend Apprenticeship Boost, which provides financial support to employers training apprentices.
Labour said the Māori-led training programme would begin following Budget 2027 if it formed the next government. Its estimated annual cost would be met through reprioritisation and existing government funding baselines.