#BuildAKL matching young Auckland job seekers with construction and infrastructure jobs

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An exciting new interactive social media campaign, #BuildAKL, was launched in September with the aim of getting more than 4000 young people into Auckland’s booming construction and infrastructure sector.

Thousands of young jobseekers at JobFest — New Zealand’s largest employment event, which also took place in September — were encouraged to register for #BuildAKL, which seeks to address a serious skills shortage in the sector.

#BuildAKL has been designed by leading industry employers and Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED), an Auckland Council-controlled organisation, to address immediate skills shortages and develop a sustainable future workforce that can build the infrastructure Auckland needs.

ATEED business innovation and skills general manager Patrick McVeigh says the sector is a key driver of Auckland’s economic growth.

“The Government estimates that $18.7 billion will need to be spent on key capital projects in Auckland in the next decade, while 400,000 additional dwellings will need to be built in the region over the next 25 years,” Mr McVeigh says.

 

Diverse job opportunities

“With 23,000 young Aucklanders not in employment, training or education, we want to lift the lid on the diverse range of job opportunities within the sector by using social media channels which are popular with under 25-year-olds.

“#BuildAKL aims to attract young Aucklanders into the rapidly growing construction and infrastructure sector industry by connecting them with entry-level jobs, education and training.”

Young job seekers will be able to learn more about the construction and infrastructure sector via content shared on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.

A new web site, www.buildakl.co.nz, has also been launched to promote job opportunities in the sector.

Job seekers wanting to pursue a career were encouraged to enter the online #BuildAKL competition recently, with 20 entrants selected as finalists following industry recruitment sharing their stories via social media to show why they should win a work placement.

Ten competitors will be selected by public vote in December to complete a four-week rotational paid work placement in January. The 10 winners will also share their experience via social media.

Fletcher Building, Auckland’s first Youth Employment Pledge partner, is actively behind the #BuildAKL initiative as part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion by helping young people into work.

Fletcher Construction chief executive Graham Darlow says with the unprecedented scale of infrastructure projects on the horizon in New Zealand there is a huge imperative to build the workforce.

“If we want to attract young people into our industry and businesses, we need to promote our leading-edge capabilities, diverse career pathways, training opportunities and projects in a way they can relate to,” Mr Darlow says.

“We need to talk to them in the way they want, and #BuildAKL is providing that opportunity.”

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