FREE TRAINING
CAREER growth
iNDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS
Mahirise
Women in
construction
Grant
IT ALL BEGINS WITH AN IDEA
✦
IT ALL BEGINS WITH AN IDEA ✦
ABOUT
MahiRise: Women in Construction Grant was born from a belief that opportunity changes everything. When given the chance, wāhine rise - and when wāhine rise, entire communities rise with them.
MahiRise is an initiative created to support the career
development of New Zealand women,
wāhine Māori and Pasifika, planning to enter the construction sector.
This unique opportunity is made possible through a generous partnership between:
Signature Construction
Griffins Operator
AcademyPassrite Driving Academy
Habitat Consultancy
Tamaki College Students receive Certificates of Completion for completing the Griffins Operator Course. Over 3 days the students’ natural talent shone as they quickly learnt the pre-check process and successfully operated the excavator through an obstacle course.
The students are undertaking the Tamaki College Trades Academy Building and Construction Programme.
Photo: Jo Johnson, Matt Griffin, Tamaki College students & Tamaki College Trades Academy, Level 3 Build and Construction teacher, Richard Huddleston.
https://sites.google.com/tamaki.ac.nz/tradesacademy/home
November 2025
A life changing opportunity for women who have a genuine interest in a career in construction, to experience on-the-ground industry training and real world experience - building confidence, practical knowledge & connections.
Mahirise breaks down traditional barriers through a powerful launchpad to open doors.
THE OPPORTUNITY
the PURPOSE
The purpose of the MahiRise Grant is to empower & equip women into the construction industry
with the practical skills, qualifications, and experience to provide pathways for a career in the construction industry or to undertake educational pursuits.
Site visit with Signature Construction’s Tamaki housing projects.
Photo: Gareth Ready CEO Signature Construction, Jo Johnson, Tamaki College Students and Signature Project Manager Sunny Sa’u.
Big thanks to Gareth & his team for their support of the MahiRise Grant
February 2026
Tamaki College Celebration of Success event with Natalie Spray, Health & Safety Manager, Signature Construction.
Natalie presented the Tamaki College students with Signature Construction Certificates and Carters vouchers.
Big thanks to Natalie for planning and leading the site visits. The students met a wahine project manager and electrician, and were inspired that they have a future the construction industry.
February 2026
The EXPERIENCE
Griffins Operator Academy
3-day excavator course at Griffins Operator Academy, Bombay
Obtain 14 level 3 NZQA credits and 3 health & safety unit standards
Signature Construction
experience housing delivery from the ground up!
Exposure to a variety of construction career paths, such as civils, project management and building trades. Meet wahine in construction.
passrite Driving academy
forklift operator Competency coursE
obtain 7 level 3 nzqa (10851) unit standards
The Tamaki College students receive their Forklift Competency Certificates with Passrite Tutor Bruce Ritchie and Tamaki College Director of Trade Academy, Rob Thomas. The students excelled - finishing the theory quickly, then stepped onto the fork lift and operated it like pros!
May 2026
IT ALL BEGINS WITH AN IDEA
✦
IT ALL BEGINS WITH AN IDEA ✦
25/26
GRANT RECIPIENTS
TAMAKI COLLEGE - TRADEs ACADEMY
The 3 day excavator introduction course with Griffins Operator Academy.
November 2025
The students visiting a Signature Construction’s Tamaki housing project.
February 2026
Passrite Forklift Operator Competency Course
May 2026
HEAR FROM MAHIRISE FOUNDER
JOANNE JOHNSON
Jo Johnson has spent 35+ years in a career spanning property development, law and finance - often as one of the few women in the room. Having witnessed firsthand how one opportunity can transform a life, she founded MahiRise to ensure wāhine have opportunities to shien in the construction industry.
The Moment That Sparked MahiRise
In 2022, fresh back to the office post-COVID, I was invited as a keynote speaker for Kāinga Ora Homes and Communities in my role as Project Director for the Northcote Large-Scale Project, delivering 1,700 new homes. (Click the logo below to view the project.)
At the event, alongside the then Minister of Finance Hon Grant Robertson and David Rankin, Chief Executive of Eke Panuku Development Auckland, I spoke about the transformation of Northcote: how we were not just building houses, but also rebuilding community and re-establishing the natural environment.
Building More Than Homes
I shared stories about the daylighting of the Awataha Stream, once buried in pipes for decades, and the remarkable impact of Kāinga Ora’s training and employment initiatives. These programmes gave local people real opportunities through apprenticeships, particularly those encouraging wāhine to step confidently into the construction sector. (Click the logo below to learn more about the programme.)
“It’s really satisfying to bring young workers on and watch them grow in confidence.
These are our builders and carpenters of the future.”
— Miles Construction
THE Story That Changed Everything
A story I told struck me deeply.
A solo mum, struggling to find work in the IT sector, took up a short work-experience placement directing traffic at the Northcote housing project.
That single opportunity changed her life.
She went on to secure full-time employment directing heavy machinery to be where they needed to be – mahi that gave her pride, purpose, and hope for herself and her tamariki.
I grew up in a solo-parent home - I could relate to her journey.
When a community empowers a wāhine,
the whole whānau and hapori (community) are uplifted,
her tamariki, her whānau, and future generations.
— Sue Watson, Leadership For Good
The Birth of MahiRise
That moment stayed with me.
It became the seed for the MahiRise Grant – a way to open doors for young women, wāhine Māori, and Pasifika to build their own pathways in the housing industry.
Having spent decades navigating the corporate sector, often as one of the few women in the room, I know the courage it takes to stand tall, to be heard, and to lead with integrity. I’ve seen the barriers – and the brilliance – that exists within our industry.
MahiRise was born from a belief that opportunity changes everything. When given the chance, wāhine rise – and when wāhine rise, entire communities rise with them.
A CALL FOR TRUE LEADERSHIP
The future of our industry isn’t built from concrete and steel, it’s built from people. From inclusion that is real, not reported.
We don’t need more tick-box targets. We need leadership with integrity - leaders who walk their talk, who lift others as they climb, who measure success not by numbers, but by lives changed.
Good leadership is where you develop your team to reach their full potential and they leave you to move onto new challenges - not because the environment was too challenging to work in.
Inclusion isn’t a KPI. It’s a commitment to see potential, to listen where others speak, to open doors for those who have never been invited in.
Organisations like the Property Council New Zealand and The Diversity Agenda (engineering & architecture) have espectively initiated the Inclusion Alliance & Diversity Agenda Accord, setting the direction for positive, measurable change for women in the work place.
The real transformation begins when every company, every project site, and every leader chooses to live those values, not because they have to, but because they believe in a better industry for ALL.
The challenge is simple:
Lead with integrity - Empower with purpose
Leave a legacy that lasts longer than the buildings we create.
Join the Movement
If you believe in building a more inclusive and equitable construction industry - one that uplifts women, whānau, and communities - all people from all backgrounds, ethnicities, identities - then take the next step.
Sign your organisation up to The Property Council Inclusion Alliance and or The Diversity Agenda and be part of the movement shaping the future of construction.
“I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier.”
- Whitney Houston (now you have that song stuck in your head!)
Businesses that are leading work place change:
IT ALL BEGINS WITH AN IDEA
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IT ALL BEGINS WITH AN IDEA ✦
BECOME A SPONSOR
Jo with a friend who Jo sponsored with Certificates of Completion from the Griffins Operator Academy Course. It was so much fun! Our confidence was boosted. We can achieve what we set our minds to!
Wearing steel caps, hi-viz and a hard hat feels so good!
September 2024