Ama Training Group has been operating for a little less than a year, but is already changing the game when it comes to vocational education in Aotearoa, empowering Māori and Pasifika to develop tino rangatiratanga through meaningful employment.

As one of Amotai’s ‘early adopters’, Ama is now well on their way to becoming a registered PTE (Private Training Establishment).

Founded by a group of whānau, including Mike (Ngāti Kuri, Rongomaiwahine) and Eileen Murray (Ngāti Tuwharetoa), Ama was born from a passion for education and, a motivation to change the opinion of what learning looks like through a te ao Māori lense.

Both Mike and Eileen are teachers by trade and had been working in kura kaupapa for 20-odd years before they made the move to Auckland three years ago.

It was then they saw a gap in Aotearoa’s education sector for tailored programmes that supported whānau to upskill and move into higher levels of business management or employment.

Before long The Link Alliance engaged Ama to tailor an Indigenous leadership training programme for some of their staff, becoming the group’s first course delivery.

“We worked with The Link Alliance’s social outcomes team to look at Māori leadership within their company and identify what that means, how it is different from other styles of leadership and what it looks like in action,” shares Mike.

The course identified how Te Whare Tapa Whā - a Māori mental health model - correlates with the maramataka (lunar calendar). It also helped those participating to identify for themselves what tino rangatiratanga looks like in action, by realising the importance of understanding themselves first, to become even better leaders.

“Our Māori people already have that entrepreneurial leadership skill set within us,” says Mike. “It’s a matter of understanding how we can use those skills to move into the corporate world or a business ownership model.”

The eight-week programme was run digitally, with Mike and his team delivering the content the via Zoom due to COVID-19 lockdown.

It was a first for Ama, but it was also a first for the Link Alliance crew. Particularly as their own team had only recently been formed and this programme was an opportunity for them to get to know each other better.

Were Maiava, Pou Arahi Māori with The Link Alliance says Ama’s course wasn’t just beneficial from an individual perspective, but for The Link Alliance team.

“Our entire team started a week and a half before the lockdown,” remembers Were. “So we didn’t know each other at all really. The programme helped us to create a connection as a team. When we came out of lockdown you would have thought we had known each other forever. You could see the difference between our team and the others.”

He says the programme’s content helped achieve that connection, with the approach proving more beneficial than any other programme like it.

“With Mike and his team, there was more of a humanistic feel,” adds Were. “It was very different from the leadership training I had done in the past, and included Māori tikanga, practice and values.”

Were says it was more than a course, it was an experience.

“If we were to do it again, face-to-face, we’d all jump in on the opportunity.

“It felt like a hui where the conversations we were having were real open and honest. It felt safe and the two people in our team who are Samoan were also able to get more of an insight into the Māori approach to things.”

Mike says the successful delivery of this programme, and the response from participants, has proven Ama’s need in the industry.

The organisation has since delivered a number of other tailored programmes, and they are on track to gain their PTE qualification with NZQA - giving them the ability to deliver more programmes across Aotearoa.

Andre Colbert is on Ama’s advisory board, helping their vision of becoming a nationally recognised education provider to be realised.

He says that part of the journey has happened faster than he’s seen before, which wouldn’t have happened if not for Ama’s connection with The Link Alliance, facilitated through Amotai.

“It’s the fastest I’ve seen an organisation become a registered training provider,” says Andre. “It’s all fallen into place because of the support of businesses who onboarded early, Amotai has been a big help with that.

“Anyone can register as a PTE,” he adds. “But there are very few that will be authentically Māori like AMA.”

Mike says there’s still a lot of mahi to do, and still a lot of people that need to see how te ao Māori can have relevance in the corporate world, but the work with The Link Alliance has helped reinforce that they’re in the right place.

“There are more opportunities being spoken about within The Link Alliance as a result, it reinforces that what we are doing is working for people.”