Why invest in your people
Construction and infrastructure built New Zealand, and the people who show up to do that work need to feel steady, supported, and seen – whether that's in the office or on site. That's why its important to invest in your people, and it's fast becoming one of the smartest investments an employer in this sector can make.
The case isn't just moral, it's commercial. When Workforce Central Dunedin embedded onsite health clinics, mental health support, and wellbeing initiatives into the Dunedin Hospital build, every dollar invested returned $5.04 in value. Separately, NZIER research puts the return on proactive workplace wellbeing initiatives at an average of 5:1, rising as high as 12:1 for well-targeted, low-cost programmes. Add to that the World Economic Forum finding that companies with more diverse management teams generate 19% higher revenue from innovation, and the message is clear: looking after your people isn't a cost centre, it's a growth strategy. Employers who invest in wraparound support reduce turnover, retain skilled workers, and lift productivity on the job and is exactly what a sector under pressure needs.
What is pastoral care, and who is it for
We define pastoral care as the structured and intentional support systems and practices that protect the physical, emotional, cultural, and educational wellbeing of your workers. In practice, that means everything from making sure someone has the right PPE and transport to get to site, through to mentoring, flexible leave, and culturally grounded support that helps people feel they belong.
Pastoral care matters for every worker, but it's most critical in the early years of a career and for apprentices in particular, where the workplace itself doubles as a classroom and the employer becomes trainer, mentor, and often the single biggest influence on whether someone stays in the trade. It's equally vital for workers from groups who are too often underserved by one-size-fits-all systems: Māori, Pacific peoples, women, migrants, and neurodiverse workers all benefit from support that recognises their specific circumstances rather than assuming everyone's needs look the same.
A sector that can't afford to keep losing people
New Zealand's construction and infrastructure sector needs an extra 157,490 workers by June 2027 just to keep pace with demand, yet it continues to bleed the people it already has. Of workers who entered the sector in 2018, 26% left within their first year, and only 23% were still there five years on. For Māori and Pacific workers, that five-year figure drops to just 14% and 16% respectively.
The good news is we know what turns this around. At Cook Brothers Construction's Apprenticeship Academy, a single dedicated Apprenticeship Development Coordinator became the "secret sauce" behind stronger completion and retention, simply by being a consistent, trusted point of contact. Programmes like Te Ara Mahi and Pae Aronui show that culturally grounded, relationship-based support helps apprentices push through the barriers that would otherwise push them out. And Workforce Central Dunedin proved that removing everyday practical barriers, health checks, transport, flexibility, keeps people on site and productive. None of these are expensive fixes. They're proof that small, consistent acts of care add up to real retention gains.
Get the full picture
This is only the introduction. Our full insights report draws on interviews with 15 sector stakeholders and a review of the latest evidence to show what effective pastoral care looks like in practice, where the sector is falling short, and what employers, training providers, and policymakers can do about it.