Higgins in the community

Higgins Napier completed a slow vehicle bay project on SH2 south of Kākāriki Farm for NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s Connecting Tairāwhiti programme.

As part of this project, the Green Team also made a meaningful contribution to the community by donating 12 tablets to Kotemaori School.

Kotemaori School, which was severely damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle, has been demolished and rebuilt by the government. On 11th October 2024, the team attended the opening ceremony of the new school alongside the Minister of Education, Hon Erica Stanford MP. Construction Manager Thomas Muller expressed pride in the team's delivery of the road work, which will support safe access to and from the school. "It was a pleasure donating the tablets to the school and seeing what it meant for the pupils and the teachers. The team is very excited for the school with their new classrooms and facilities."

Kotemaori School Principal Roxine Habib thanked the team. "The tablets have added another level of education here at Kotemaori. They will significantly boost learning by providing access to various digital resources and interactive tools."

Higgins Levin is making Horowhenua’s Christmas wish come true! The team is sponsoring the traffic management for the Horowhenua Christmas parade and carnival on 7 December. After last year’s cancellation, they’re excited to help bring this beloved event back to the community.

Branch Manager Johan Van Wyk shared, "We’re thrilled to support the Horowhenua Christmas parade and carnival. It’s a wonderful occasion that brings the community together, and we’re excited to be part of the magic." "We know how much the community loves this event, and it’s a joy to contribute to something that brings smiles to so many faces. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone come together and celebrate in the spirit of the season."

You can read the full story on NZ Herald here.

When Brendon Graham finished the Māori and Pasifika leadership programme Whakatupu, he knew straight away that he wanted to share the course with as many people as possible.

Brendon, who is National Transport and Driver Training Manager, says he’d found the course ‘moving and transformational’. In particular, he wanted to encourage his team member Jess Kairau to take part. “She’s got her whole career ahead of her, and I knew it would give her a great foundation for her future. I firmly believe one day she’ll be my boss!”.

Jess, who works as a Bitumen Transport Dispatcher, initially wasn’t sure it was the right course for her but took a place in last year’s second cohort. “Brendon was raving about it, but I wasn’t sure what to think. In the end it was amazing. I walked out with so much knowledge.”

The course has given Jess the confidence to aim for the next stage in her career. “I’m not at a management level but now a lightbulb’s gone off. I’m not scared to approach conversations with management about where I want to be. I want to be at the table and that’s where I’m going now.”

Jess took part in the course with fellow Higgins whānau Edward Wallace, Hoani Taratoa, Pat Junior Karauna-Wharerimu and Aroha Tuhura.

Whakatupu is a course run by our parent company, Fletcher Building, and aims to increase the number of Māori and Pasifika leaders in the business. It consists of five modules each delivered in a two-day workshop. Modules are held at Fletcher House and on a marae with overnight stays. Participants also have one-on-one coaching, as well as working as a group to develop a cultural initiative for the business.

We’re proud to support a programme that’s facilitating construction careers using a Te Ao Māori approach. Our Wairarapa team is involved in He Kahui Wairarapa’s Mahi Ora programme which supports Wairarapa locals who’re interested in a career in civil construction.

Mahi Ora, which is funded by local iwi and the Ministry for Social Development, also offers pastoral support to the people involved. This includes helping them learn about financial management and find rental accommodation. Ed Ward, Higgins Wairarapa Construction Manager provided guidance to the trainers and trainees, saying it gives him an opportunity to build on his link with the community. “My good friend and neighbour, Joe Nuku leads He Kahui Wairarapa and has been talking to me for a few years about how to best run the programme and get young people into construction. He got the programme up and running when I joined Higgins Wairarapa, so it was perfect timing.”

He says some of the trainees have also lost touch with their iwi, hapū, marae and whānau. “The course helps them to reach out and reconnect, and to find their identities.”

The Mahi Ora programme recently had its first batch of graduates – with all eight people who started in the programme graduating and ready for work. Ed says Higgins Wairarapa has been interviewing graduates for some roles. The team has offered one graduate a role in the 2024 Cadet Program with more roles opening up in the new year.

“We have also recently recruited two graduates from MSD traffic management training programme, one going straight into traffic management and the other starting as a labourer with our surfacing team.”

“It’s historically harder to recruit in Wairarapa as younger people tend to leave for bigger towns and cities. Mahi Ora assists with our recruitment strategies and by partnering up we can help mould the programme to our needs as a business.”

SPPEEx (South Pacific Professional Engineering Excellence) marked two decades of supporting Māori and Pasifika professionals within the construction and engineering industries. 

The twenty-year anniversary celebration included a cocktail-style event, featuring cultural performances and messages from founding members. It was an opportunity for the group to highlight their key milestones, including last year’s feat of securing three foundation sponsors – Fletcher Construction, Beca and Watercare. Prior to that, SPPEEx operations were either self-funded or supported by ad hoc grants.

The group’s board includes a number of Fletcher Construction team members: Vice President Cory Teina (NZICC), Secretary Fatima Atonio (BPC), Communications Officer 'Ofa Halatanu (BPC) and Sports Officer Francis Swanney-Fetalaiga (Higgins).

Cory says it’s really important to represent Māori and Pasifika voices. “There are not that many of us in the engineering space, particularly in leadership roles. If we can improve our numbers across the board and develop that pool of talent, it would help provide a great pathway for the next generation. That’s why we put a fair bit of mahi in, focusing on school and university levels, to promote engineering as a viable career. Engineering, in a nutshell, is about problem solving, and with all the advancements in technology and innovation within the construction/engineering industries, it’s a great time to get amongst it” he says.

“The ongoing sponsorship is huge for us as it improves our ability to host events to connect and grow our community and strengthen ties with Māori and Pasifika students from the University of Auckland, Unitec, AUT and MIT,” Teina says.

Higgins' Rangiuru Business Park interchange project team supported the Te Puke High School Driving Programme. The school programme enables students who may not have access to what is needed to learn to drive – a vehicle, someone to teach them, or the available funds to pay the license fees. It not only gets the students on the road, but also opens the doors to future opportunities for employment and training.

Knowing that having safe and competent drivers on our roads will help reduce accidents, our team assisted 10 students to gain their learner's license through the programme, and all 10 students are now delighted learner's license holders.

Our Higgins Christchurch team helped freshen up Ararira Springs Primary School’s main car park with new markings.

Neil Andrews, Christchurch City Council contract engineer, approached the team late last year on this project.

The Ararira Springs Primary School board thanked Higgins Christchurch for enhancing the school and making it a safer place for the community.

Higgins project engineer Anthony Godetz said the team was proud and grateful for the opportunity to improve the overall safety of the school and support the Ararira Springs community. “We enjoyed every step of the project. The positive feedback and smiles on the people’s faces are priceless.”

Group photo shows, from left: Anthony, Ararira Springs Primary school principal Claire Howison, Neil with his daughters.

All women at Fletcher Construction have the opportunity to apply for our Women to Leadership programme. 

The programme sees women spending a year in a group mentoring setting and completing specially-designed workshops. The programme aims to support women's rise through the ranks at Fletcher Construction. Women to Leadership was designed by organisational culture specialist Dr Galia Barhava-Monteith.

Each year, the Higgins Masterton branch offers local school leavers the chance to ‘earn and learn’.

They advertise though Trade Me, and work with Careers Advisors at local low-decile schools to give young people a possible career opportunity as well as giving something back to the community.

Like our Gateway Programme, this cadetship offers younger people a taste of construction and busts some industry myths thanks to hands-on experience.

This programme invests in our local communities as well as the future of our business. With a widening gap between our long-serving team and new blood coming in, we want to promote construction as a viable career option through as many avenues as we can.

The programme runs for nine months (January to September) on a full-time work basis and each cadet spends about a month with each division at the branch. This includes subdivisions, three waters, commercial and residential, local authority road maintenance, aggregates, and surfacing. Cadets get paid and gain NZQA qualifications and driver licenses as they go. 

Some previous cadets have stayed with Higgins and gone on to gain their full driver license, class 5 license, become supervisors, and one of the team is 90% through his drain layer’s certificate. 

Higgins is proud to offer the Gateway Programme to young people wanting to try a career in construction.

Gateway is a work experience programme for students between years 11-13. Higgins supports Gateway by offering students practical work experience for one day a week over 10 weeks.

During the programme, students complete industry-related unit standards through on-the-job learning, which contribute towards their NCEA results. They also get the chance to experience what a career with Higgins has to offer.

Dakota Linton Jennings, a student from Karamu High School, is one of these students. She recently completed the programme with Higgins Hawke’s Bay. Dakota attended a Girls with Hi-Vis event and enjoyed the digger experience so much she decided to find out more about the construction industry. “I looked into the industry and decided that’s what I want to do as a career,” Dakota says.

Our Higgins Christchurch team has given the playground of Te Kōmanawa Rowley School a much-needed makeover.

It was a nice surprise to welcome back the Hoon Hay school's students after their school holiday. Along with subcontractors Bond Earthworks and SprayMarks, we gave the kids a new basketball hoop and linemarkings on the basketball courts, volleyball court as well as the gutter ball and four-square courts.

Tim Day, Higgins South Island Manager, says it’s a privilege to support a school that's making a real difference in the lives of students, many of whom come from disadvantaged circumstances. “We know the great work the staff at Te Kōmanawa Rowley School do for their community and wanted to support them in their mission.”

Tim thanks the school for the opportunity to provide facilities which engage their students through learning and play. “What a fantastic cause to be even a small part of. Big shout out to all the staff and teachers – modern day heroes!” 

Group photo shows (from left): Higgins Operations Manager Mondri Du Preez, Higgins staff Brent Leishman and Karl Todd, Bond Earthworks Senior Contracts Manager Scott Hickling, School Principal Graeme Norman, Bond Earthworks Owner Mark Bond, and Bond Earthworks Project Manager Larry Seator.

We host special events around the country to inspire girls and young women to consider a career in construction.

This is part of the Connexis Girls with Hi-Vis initiative that aims to encourage more women into infrastructure training and careers.

These events range from hands-on time with our machinery, discussions about the career paths our women have taken, and a trip to view one of our most iconic projects – the Sky Tower.

For some students, this programme leads into further study with us through the Gateway programme. 

Fletcher Construction is a major sponsor of the Bridges to Schools programme.

Working with colleagues at Fletcher Building and our friends at Auckland University of Technology, we were able to fund and organise the fabrication of a child-size cable-stayed bridge. The bridge is being taken to schools around Aotearoa, giving students from year 5-13 the chance to get hands-on engineering experience. Volunteers introduce the bridge to students then allow them to put the bridge together, testing their engineering understanding as they go.  

Bridges to Schools is an Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) international programme. Its New Zealand launch was sponsored by Fletcher Construction, Auckland University of Technology, Altus NZ Limited, PlaceMakers and Easysteel.

Higgins has sponsored the Hawke’s Bay Sports Park since it opened in 2010 in support of the Sports Park Trust’s vision and determination to provide a comprehensive and high-quality sporting facility for the community and to give back to the community that has supported Higgins since 1971.

In 2016 Higgins confirmed a sponsorship with a five-year investment of $250,000 and continues today to be a proud sponsor.

Higgins’ initial involvement in the Hawke's Bay was the purchase of Belspray Asphalts and a Bitumen Marine terminal at the Port of Napier in the 1970’s. Today Higgins has in excess of 130 Hawke’s Bay staff. Over this time Higgins has made significant investments in the region with the expansion of its contracting operation and its bitumen handling facility at the Port of Napier which now distributes bitumen to the Hawke’s Bay region and the lower North Island.

Cancer affects everyone. The Cancer Society - Relay for Life is a great annual community initiative that brings people together to raise funds for cancer research and the society's support activities. In the Manawatu, Higgins have participated in the relay every year since 2001 with a team and raised $232,000 during this time for the Cancer Society.