Year 13 kōhine from Papakura High, Manurewa High and Auckland Girls' Grammar attended our recent Pave Your Path at Foodstuffs headquarters in Mangere. This programme is delivered in partnership with Tupu Toa and aims to inspire participants to dream big, think of themselves as more than capable, introduce them to women like them who are succeeding in corporate life, as well as show them a large organisation and share some of the possible career paths in that organisation.

The day was facilitated by Tupu Toa Alumni and Foodstuffs personnel and included sessions such as 'Know Your Why', an introduction to Tupu Toa, an introduction to Foodstuffs, roles at the organisation and a tour of the largest warehousing facility in NZ. There was opportunity for the kōhine to think about their uniqueness and their skills & values, and to discuss with each other and facilitators issues concerning family, school, and tertiary study.

This is our third year of partnering with Tupu Toa to bring such opportunities to Māori and Pasifika kōhine and we know from evaluation surveys that they have found the experience really useful, with some deciding from this day that they will attend university.