Wendy joins the whānau

Wendy Devine, Te Atiawa, joined the WITT Te Pūkenga whānau late last month as the Kaiwhakahaere (Te Pou Tū) in the Kaiārahi Team.

In her role she will be implementing Te Pou Tū, our initiative to support Māori and Pasifika ākonga to succeed. 

“Wendy brings strong industry relationships to the role and these will be key to supporting Māori and Pasifika students into employment,” says WITT Te Pūkenga Kaiarahi - Deputy Chief Executive Allie Hemara-Wahanui.

Wendy has 17 years of experience working in tertiary education, targeted government training programmes and industry training across various government initiatives, including government policy development project teams and the rollout of todern apprenticeships programmes. She has also had 12 years working in various roles for ITOs in the energy sector including Assessment and Moderation Advisor, National Operations Manager and Acting CE.

Mostly recently Wendy has held a dual role as Workforce Development Advisor for the Engineering Taranaki Consortium and the Co-ordinator Industry Pathways for Taranaki Futures.

A key part of Wendy’s new role will be coordinating events to celebrate ākonga achievement, including the annual WITT TE Pūkenga graduation and Māori and Pasifika Celebration.

“Events like these can be a new kaupapa for some whānau, so when a family member is eligible to walk across the stage, it’s important to support and encourage them to do so.  A stage can be a scary space when you spend more time blending in,” says Allie.