Transforming Workforce Wellbeing in Construction & Infrastructure
Read our reports, roadmap and start using our free toolkit today!
Why This Matters
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Persistent labour shortages, an ageing workforce, and high dropout rates — especially among Māori, Pacific peoples, and early-career workers — are threatening the sector’s productivity and growth.
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Current workplace support systems are fragmented and under-resourced, leading to poor retention and low apprenticeship completions.
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Without change, the sector risks falling short on delivering the nation’s infrastructure needs and building a diverse, sustainable workforce.
Addressing Labour Shortages and Enhancing Leadership
The construction and infrastructure sector in Aotearoa New Zealand is facing a critical shortage of skilled workers, with an urgent need for an additional 157,490 workers by 2027 to meet national infrastructure goals. In response, a pioneering project led by Martin Jenkins, in partnership with Waihanga Ara Rau and ConCOVE, is setting a new direction for workforce support — embedding culturally responsive needs-based care and strengthening leadership capabilities across the sector.
Our Solution: Practical, Evidence-Based Change
This transformative project synthesises existing research and sector input to deliver the following key resources:
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Insights Report: A comprehensive report of pastoral care needs and challenges.
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Insights Summary: An overview of the above report.
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Worker Support Toolkit: Practical, user-friendly resources for employers to improve workforce support immediately.
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Capability Roadmap: A plan to fill gaps and embed long-term transformational change.
Built with the Sector, For the Sector
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Developed in collaboration with government, industry leaders, and education providers.
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Culturally responsive and inclusive, addressing needs of diverse workers including women, migrants, and tangata whaikaha.
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Focused on real-world approaches grounded in behavioural insights and evidence.
How You Can Get Involved
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Explore and adopt the pastoral care leadership toolkit.
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Collaborate with peers and policymakers to embed best practices.
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Prioritise pastoral care as central to workforce development and operational success.
Together, we can build a resilient, skilled, and diverse construction and infrastructure workforce ready for the challenges ahead.
Get your free, editable Worker Support Toolkit above - put it to work in your workplace today!