Brock Te Rangi selected for Rangatira Leadership Programme.
Brock Te Rangi, a first-year builder who completed his building apprenticeship through TW Construction, has recently returned from a leadership programme, designed for future Māori leaders, at Abel Tasman National Tasman Park.
Brock was one of ten rangatira nationwide selected to attend the Rangatira Development Programme run by trades apprentice organisation BCITO. The trip included four days’ worth of team building and personal development activities such as Waka Ama, Mau rākau, hikoi maunga (walked mountains) and camping.
He said that the experience pushed him outside of his comfort zone, helped him to connect with his Māori heritage on a deeper level, as well as create lifelong friendships.
“The best thing was the solid relationship we built with each other over the first 24 hours, by the end of the trip we were all best mates.”
“It was nice to get away from daily life and into nature with no distractions. During the course they worked to build us up so we can lead others” he said.
Brock’s Training Advisor from BCITO, Hamish Schwass, said that he straight away thought of Brock for the programme.
“Brock is an extremely engaged apprentice and is successful both inside and outside of work. He is well supported by his supervisors, as well as TW Group’s in-house Training and Development Lead, who can all see his huge potential.”
Brock said that he is keen to learn and grow in the construction industry,
“I am always looking to upskill myself and push harder to succeed. There is a big future in construction for the younger generation and I am keen to part of that” he said.
Paul McDowall, Kaitohutohu Māori with BCITO, who designed and facilitated the programme said that he was proud to pilot a programme that recognised young Māori in construction.
“The course is designed to give back to the construction community and we are thrilled with how well it went this year. We are looking forward to running it again in 2025.”
And Brock’s advice for next year’s cohort: “to get the most out of it, you have to be 100% open to the learnings and fully lean into the experience.”
