A former junior rugby league star is providing job opportunities for fellow athletes, as well as fostering Te Reo Māori.
For the past three years, 28-year-old Jarrod Tua has owned and operated his own building business, employing some league team-mates in West Auckland and putting them through apprenticeships.
Not only that, Jarrod, a descendant of Tainui and Ngāphui, is fostering te reo, with the language a common sound on the building site.
Jarrod told Te Karere that is was important to foster the next generation of Māori and Pasifika people.
"I understand there is a shortage of tradies out there and we’re inviting foreigners into the country to help the boom in construction, but we also need to make sure that we are investing our knowledge and our time and our money into our rangatahi that we have here in our own country," he said.
A number of the apprentices are already fluent, and Jarrod said they inspired him in improving his reo.
"They give me strength to develop my language," he told Te Karere.
"Because when you’re working in this environment you forget who you are and what you have. These fellas are a good reminder for me, wanting to find my reo and to promote it."
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