Opportunities
Opportunities
Opportunities
Stats as of 18/04/2021
What is the TupuToa Internship Programme?
He aha a TupuToa
The TupuToa Internship Programme is an employment pathway that provides professional opportunities for Māori and Pacific tertiary students in corporate, government and community organisations.
We do this by securing 12-week paid-internships for tertiary students with our partner organisations – with the desire that the internship will convert into fulltime employment once our interns have graduated.
Why we do this mahi
Te kaupapa o ā mātou mahi
Māori and Pacific peoples comprise roughly 27% of the national population (higher in Auckland) and yet are largely invisible in corporate New Zealand, and especially so in leadership positions.
Many of our interns are the first in their families to undertake tertiary study and with the guidance and pastoral care of TupuToa Navigators, they are better equipped to succeed in a corporate environment.
Māori and Pacific peoples also represent a younger population, meaning our people will make up a significant proportion of the future workforce.
TupuToa is more than an internship.
Locations
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Auckland
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Hamilton
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Wellington
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Christchurch
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Dunedin
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International
Meet the Navigation Team

Maruata leads TupuToa’s Navigators Team, ensuring that the internship programme is delivered with excellence and that our rangatahi are supported to succeed. Throughout her life and career Maruata has been focused on building capability within Māori and Pacific communities. She brings several years’ experience as a teacher aide in Kohanga and primary schools, and five years with the Counties Manukau District Health Board engaging Māori and Pacific tauira in secondary and tertiary education.
Maruata grew up in Auckland and Samoa and speaks Te Reo Māori, English and basic Samoan. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Māori Development.

Prior to joining TupuToa, Yole worked with a cybersecurity firm and through her university studies held roles in hospitality. She has also worked with the team at LeVa as a Youth Advisor and was part of their EAG for Atu-Mai, New Zealand’s first national violence prevention programme for young Pacific people. She is also the Deputy Convenor for the Pacific Women’s Watch.
Yole has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Marketing from the University of Otago and is fluent in English and Samoan, with rudimentary Te reo Māori skills.

Prior to joining TupuToa, Tala had roles in logistics, as a health and PE teacher, and even dabbled in factory work. He holds a degree in sports and recreation from AUT University and worked as Operations Manager for the Get into Life Youth Development Trust for four years, prior to moving to Melbourne for his overseas experience.
Tala is fluent in Te reo Māori and has rudimentary Samoan skills.

Prior to joining TupuToa, she taught English to high school students in Tonga. And while she may have left formal teaching, she continues to support her former students in Tonga, whilst also tutoring Tongan students in Mt Wellington once a week on a voluntary basis.
Florida holds a Bachelor of Property and a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and Management from the University of Auckland. She is fluent in English and Tongan.

Ashleigh has worked previously as a Student Support Advisor at Unitec, a Scholarships Advisor and the Graduation team leader at the University of Auckland. Prior to this Ashleigh has worked in a number of other roles, a teacher aide, a retail assistant and she loves to bake!
Ashleigh graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts double majoring in Māori and Pacific studies and has also completed the Indigenous Summer Semester Programme at the University of Columbia in the city of New York. She hyas basic understanding of te reo Māori and Niuean and speaks a basic level of te reo Māori.