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BBQs, banter, and a 15-year partnership.
For almost 15 years, J&D McLennan Engineers and Key Skills Recruitment have worked side-by-side, building strong teams and even stronger relationships across Wellington’s manufacturing and engineering sectors. To celebrate the partnership and check out J&D’s brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, the Key Skills crew recently headed to Lower Hutt to fire up the BBQ and put on lunch for the team. It was a great afternoon with good food, plenty of banter, and a reminder that the best partnerships are built on people, not just paperwork. Family-owned and operated since the 1940s, J&D McLennan has become a quiet legend of New Zealand [...]
Malcolm gets Key Skilled!
Malcolm joined Key Skills back in January 2025, referred by his proud grandfather after making the move from Australia to New Zealand (bucking the current trend of Kiwis heading the other way). From day one, he impressed everyone, earning rave reviews on his very first assignment for being a quick learner and a hard worker. It wasn’t long before he found his forever home at Masterpet, where he continued to prove his worth every day. After just six months, Malcolm’s dedication paid off and he’s now officially a permanent team member! Stories like Malcolm’s are what Key Skills is all [...]
Certified safe – Key Skills achieves Tōtika accreditation.
Safety has always been central to how we work at Key Skills but proving it can often feel like a full-time job. Every major client has their own version of prequalification, and every form asks the same questions in slightly different ways. That duplication adds up to hours of admin, cost, and confusion. That’s why Tōtika matters. Created by CHASNZ (Construction Health and Safety New Zealand), it’s the national framework that brings clarity and consistency to contractor prequalification. And after months of work behind the scenes, Key Skills is proud to be officially Tōtika accredited. Earning that accreditation takes real [...]
Welcome back Muss!
We’re delighted to welcome back a familiar face - Lamasi “Muss” Sanele. Muss first joined Key Skills in 2019, quickly proving himself to be a natural in recruitment with his people-first approach and unflappable style. After a few years of running our manufacturing desk, he left in early 2024 to pursue work in the community with his best mate and later at the Laura Ferguson Trust. It was valuable work, but the pull of the hustle and pace of recruitment proved too strong and now he’s back with us, picking up right where he left off. Muss is known across [...]
Mental Health is as important as PPE.
At Key Skills, we often say mental health is as important on site as fall protection or PPE gear. You wouldn’t send a worker up a scaffold without a harness, and you shouldn’t send someone into the week without the right support for their wellbeing. That’s why Mental Health Awareness Week (6 - 12 October) is a date we circle on the calendar every year but for us, it’s never just about one week. Mental health is a focus every day, on every site, with every worker we place. Why it matters in our industryConstruction, manufacturing, and engineering can be [...]
Why continuity matters in labour hire.
On any site, things move quickly. Crews change, jobs scale up or down, and there’s always pressure to keep projects on track. When you’re relying on labour hire, the last thing you want is to lose momentum because you’re explaining your needs again and again to a new recruiter. That’s where continuity comes in. Continuity means your labour hire partner holds onto the knowledge of your site, your standards, and your people so you don’t have to keep resetting the clock. It sounds simple, but in practice it’s one of the biggest differences between a smooth hire and a costly [...]
