Mana in Mahi - For employers

Mana in Mahi connects employers with people who are keen to work and learn and need some additional support to get their new career started.

If you employ someone through Mana in Mahi, we'll:

• work closely with you to understand your needs
• help you recruit the right person
• help pay for any pre-employment training they might need
• provide a wage subsidy to recognise the time you're investing in your employee and support their ongoing employment
• help pay for industry training course fees not already covered by other government schemes
• arrange regular contact with you to get feedback on:
  • what's going well
  • what further help you need.

We'll also support your employee directly by:

• helping them to set achievable goals
• contributing to the cost of additional education supports they may need for studying
• supporting them to start their qualification or apprenticeship
• giving them incentive payments to motivate them to meeting their goals
• meeting with them get their feedback on how things are going.

To take part in Mana in Mahi, your business needs to

• have a permanent full-time or part-time position you want to fill
• be offering at least the adult minimum wage
• commit to supporting the new employee on a training pathway towards a NZQA-approved industry qualification.

The person you’re employing also needs to be eligible for Mana in Mahi.

Mana in Mahi recognises the investment you're making in your new employee through a range of financial and pastoral supports.

Depending on the training pathway, Mana in Mahi can provide:

• a wage subsidy of up to $16,000 in your employee's first year and up to $8,000 in their second year while still training
• up to $2,000 to help with pre-employment training
• funding of up to $8,000 each year towards your employee's industry training course (where not covered under Fees Free or the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund scheme) for up to 2 years
• ongoing coaching and mentoring for you and your employee.

Your employee will also have access to:

• help to pay for additional education or support they may need
• support to start their qualification or apprenticeship
• wrap-around pastoral care to help navigate any challenges
• incentive payments of up to $6,000 over 2 years.

If you’d like to know more about helping someone start a new career through Mana in Mahi, you can

• talk to your local Work and Income work broker
• email Mana_in_Mahi@msd.govt.nz with:
  • your name
  • the name of your business
  • your business address (including town/city)
  • the best phone number to contact you on.

• call us on 0800 778 008

If you take part in Mana in Mahi, someone may contact you to ask if you can take part in an interview or survey. This will help us see how Mana in Mahi is working your business and participants and how we could make things better. You don't have to take part but if you do, it will be anonymous and confidential.