Auckland Airport recently held its first ever ‘job speed dating’ event, attracting hundreds of local job seekers looking for employment. It was specifically aimed to connect those living in Counties Manukau with local jobs at the airport.
More than 500 job seekers and 30 employers registered to take part in the Auckland Airport Job Expo, with over 300 jobs in construction, retail, hospitality and tourism on offer.
“Auckland Airport is undergoing a significant transformation, with a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure build that will transform our precinct into an airport of the future. We are also a fast-growing business hub with hundreds of companies operating here,” says Adrian Littlewood, Auckland Airport’s Chief Executive.
“We want to ensure that local people share in the benefits of our transformation and have opportunities to connect with employers so they can find jobs close to their homes and provide for their whanau.”
The Job Expo is a partnership between the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), Auckland Business Chamber and Ara – Auckland Airport Jobs and Skills Hub. Ara was set up in 2015 by Auckland Airport in partnership with MSD and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to connect local people with local jobs, with more than 27,000 full-time roles expected to be created in the airport precinct over the next 30 years.
Auckland Airport is already home to more than 800 businesses with 20,000 people working in the precinct every day. Since its establishment, Ara has placed hundreds of people into employment and thousands of others have also successfully completed training through Ara, including through apprenticeships and micro-training courses.
At the Job Expo, employers set up stations at the new headquarters of Ara, located at the refurbished clubhouse of the former Aviation Golf Course. Groups of job seekers, including secondary students, attended rolling 30-minute sessions, meeting with prospective employers to discuss job opportunities. Employers involved included Fulton Hogan, Novotel Auckland Airport, Smarte Carte, The Better Bar Company and Kiwi Discovery offering a range of jobs including warehousing and grading, retail customer service, restaurant kitchen, bus driver and civil construction roles.
In 2019, 210 job placements were made through Ara, with 175 of these involving people living in South Auckland. In addition, more than 78 people completed training offered through the programme and 77 students from five local secondary schools graduated from a year-long work experience programme.
