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From the Beehive to the building site – Josh on taking the local hiring message to the top
One day you’re in steel caps on site. The next, you’re in a suit at the Beehive talking to Ministers about how the country keeps its workforce moving. That was Josh’s week recently when he represented Key Skills at the RCSA’s industry summit in Wellington. Hosted inside ParMattent, the event was all about connecting recruitment leaders directly with Government decision-makers. There was no sitting quietly in the back. Attendees sat down with MPs, Ministers, MBIE, and MSD officials to thrash out the big topics shaping our industries - immigration policy, workforce regulation, digital skills, productivity, AI, and removing barriers for [...]
Why choosing local matters more than ever
Across construction, engineering, and manufacturing, timelines are tighter and margins are thinner. Under pressure, it’s tempting to go with the biggest brand, the lowest price, or whoever can send “a body” quickest. But local, New Zealand-owned businesses offer something different, and in this game, different often means better. They’re serving your community. They’re part of it. Same traffic. Same sports sidelines. Same weather warnings. They know your patch because they work in it too. At Key Skills, we see this every day. When clients choose a locally owned labour hire firm like ours, they’re filling a shift, and they’re also [...]
How to stop wasting money on short-term hires
When it comes to filling short-term roles, most companies move fast. That’s the point. A project’s picked up speed, someone’s called in sick, or you’ve got a backlog to smash through. But in the rush, we’ve seen even the most experienced teams waste money without realising it. Here are three places we regularly see good companies lose money, and what you can do to avoid it. Hiring too late - waiting until the pressure is on before asking for help. We get it. No one wants to overhire. But waiting until the job is on fire means less choice, less [...]
Key Skills attending RCSA Recruitment and Staffing Summit
This July, Josh from Key Skills will head to the Beehive to represent our team at the inaugural RCSA Recruitment & Staffing Summit. It’s a chance to participate in important conversations about the future of work and ensure the voice of labour hire is heard where it counts. As an active Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association (RCSA) member, we take our role in these conversations seriously. With big changes to the Employment Relations Act (ERA) on the table, it’s important for the people making the rules to hear from those who see how it plays out in real workplaces. Josh brings [...]
Key Skills is now an Amotai registered supplier
Key Skills is proud to be officially registered with Amotai, the national intermediary that connects Māori and Pasifika owned businesses with procurement opportunities across Aotearoa. This registration formally recognises us as a business that is at least 50% Māori-owned. It places us in a growing national network of high-performing, kaupapa-driven suppliers, deeply connected to their communities. What this means Being Amotai registered means we’re now eligible to be matched with buyers from across government, iwi, trusts, and major corporates. These are organisations committed to supplier diversity and to building stronger futures by working with businesses like ours. But for us, [...]
Budget 2025 – not bad, not great, just… there
The Government’s 2025 Budget landed with all the fizz of a lukewarm cuppa. Finance Minister Nicola Willis called it a “careful balance,” and to be fair, that’s accurate. It doesn’t blow anything up, but it doesn’t spark much confidence either. For those of us working in construction, engineering, manufacturing, and labour hire, the good news is… well, there’s not a lot of bad news. But is there much here to help you move forward right now? Not really. What’s in the pot? Investment Boost – Businesses can now deduct an extra 20% on new asset purchases, on top of standard [...]
