Almost a year ago, the Government was being accused of working at a glacial pace on fixing Māori unemployment. A $50 million training scheme had created just four new Māori jobs in eight months.
Stuff explained the Māori Trades and Training Fund – the scheme in question – was a contestable, grant-based initiative from the Covid-19 response and recovery package in Budget 2020.
They could have described it as race-based, too. Proposals (the Stuff report said) must be by-Māori and for Māori, aiming to upskill participants and provide “meaningful opportunities into employment”.
