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- 2019 Futures that Work scholarships workshop and awards ceremony
2019 Futures that Work scholarships workshop and awards ceremony
This year 72 recipients were awarded a Futures that Work scholarship and support programme. This is the highest number awarded in its 11-year history. After years of promoting mental health and addiction as a career for Pasifika people, we are seeing uptake like never before. We are so proud of our students and workforce, particularly with results showing that the Futures that Work programme participants have achieved a 100% pass rate for the last 3 years.
It is important to recognise and celebrate educational achievement for Pasifika communities. It’s also important to visibly role-model that success is possible, especially for future generations, and some scholarship recipients may have overcome significant obstacles to get to this point in their academic and professional career.
After a full day workshop focused on supporting recipients to achieve their qualifications this year, about 140 friends and family supported 72 recipients at the 2019 Futures that Work scholarships ceremony and dinner at Jet Park conference centre in Mangere.
You can view the amazing photo album of all recipients and their families on our facebook page.
Dr Monique Faleafa shared the results of the Futures that Work programme over the past 11 years, highlighting how we can now see tangible results because of this programme, with real growth in the size and skills of the Pacific workforce.
The honourable ‘Aupito William Sio, Minister for Pacific Peoples, emphasised the changes needed in mental health for Pasifika, the need to invest in mental health services, and to further grow the Pacific mental health workforce.
Robyn Shearer, Deputy Director General mental health and addictions from the Ministry of Health, congratulated Le Va for over a decade of results and gave inspirational messages on the importance of building a resilient and innovative workforce that can adjust to the ever-changing needs of our people.
Recipients Malcolm Andrews, Pela Fasavalu and James Afoa shared their inspirational and heartfelt testimonies of gratitude and purpose. They all emphasised that their qualifications will help them make a difference and support their tautua for Pasifika communities.