Hon Te Ururoa Flavell

Minister for Māori Development

Associate Minister for Economic Development

16 June 2016 Media Statement

Minister releases report into Māori ICT-use

Māori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell is today announcing the release of an insightful report into Māori use of information communications technology.

Speaking from an economic development hui in Gisborne, Mr Flavell says a key finding of the Māori me te Ao Hangarau 2015: Māori in the ICT sector report is that Māori, particularly those aged 15-24, are high users of mobile technology to access the internet.

“We should be supporting our rangatahi into pathways where careers in ICT are a viable and exciting option. The sort of jobs Māori tended to rely on in the past have changed so we need to be looking to the future,” he says.

“Studying ICT is a pathway to high-paying careers for our young. The median salary of a Māori worker in 2013 was $36,500 whereas the average Māori ICT professional earned $60,000.

“But we don’t just want our young people getting into ICT careers, we want them in management and we want them owning their own businesses.

“Boldness and innovation are what will make that happen, and that is something that Māori have in abundance.

“While we’re looking to the future, we also need to address that only 68 percent of Māori households have access to the internet, compared with the national average of 83 percent. This report helps identify where we can focus on lifting our achievements,” Mr Flavell says.

Today’s He kai kei aku ringa Regional Economic Development Hui Te Tairāwhiti is being held at the Quality Hotel Emerald in Gisborne and is being organised by Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). It is the third of eight regional hui to discuss and promote Māori economic development and to showcase home-grown initiatives.

The report was written by MBIE as part of He kai kei aku ringa – the Māori Economic Strategy and Action Plan.

Link to Māori me te Ao Hangarau 2015: Māori in the ICT sector report once it is up on the MBIE website

Link to He kai kei aku ringa

ends

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