Young technology industry hopeful Utah Mann says bringing in more Māori and Pasifika in the sector can fill a gap in the market for “soul” and “empathy”.
The 25-year-old from South Auckland, who is of Ngāti Awa, Tongan and Samoan descent, is a recipient of a scholarship from Auckland Council’s Southern Initiative which aims to increase the diversity of the tech sector.
“One current gap in the tech market is a bit of soul and a little bit of empathy towards putting people first,” Mann told TVNZ’1s Breakfast this morning.
“Coming from a culture that puts love, family, community central, if we can bring that into the tech sector, we can potentially be the heartbeat of New Zealand’s tech and potentially, globally, the soul of tech.”
He is currently 11 weeks into a 12-week course at Mission Ready, a career development organisation that has partnered with Auckland Council to take 12 scholarship recipients through its full stack development course.
Mann was born in South Auckland, and moved to the US at the age of eight. He then spent time in Nicaragua and London, before returning home in July after being furloughed from his marketing job in the UK because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I realised, like a lot of people probably, how fragile my sector was,” he said.
Mann said he started considering entering the tech sector after looking at trends in the market.
“Don’t be intimidated by, maybe, your current viewpoint of the [tech] industry … you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to get behind the computer and have a career in it.”
Mann has interviews lined up with Air New Zealand and Transformative NZ.
Mission Ready co-founder Diana Sharma said more Māori and Pasifika in the tech sector would make “a big difference” because it was creating products for diverse audiences.
It’s estimated only about two per cent of New Zealand’s tech workforce identified as Māori and Pasifika.
But, there were a number of barriers for these groups when trying to enter the industry, she said.
Sharma said people wanting to enter the tech sector often asked themselves “Is it for me, can I do this?”
“There isn’t enough role models in the industry that one could identify with.”
She said access to technology, such as in South Auckland, was another obstacle.
“It can be a real challenge when it comes to considering a career in tech if you don’t have basic necessities.
“And I call them basic because we should really have this at home, especially in New Zealand.”
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