Supporting pathways into tech in partnership with Rea

In 2022, we began a partnership with Rea, an Aotearoa-founded organisation that provides people with the skills they need to advance their careers in technology, and then connects them with well-paid employment opportunities within the industry. 

Grounded in Tikanga Māori (values and principles), Rea’s purpose is to provide inclusive, equitable access to education and employment to increase industry diversity while addressing tech’s skills shortage, enabling a more predictable pipeline of quality talent for local businesses. 

Enabling a future in tech for all 

Founder Nathan Bryant-Taukiri says his vision was to help others find a pathway to a better future through a career in technology, especially in communities that perhaps need more assistance than others. He created Rea to guarantee work and support people to grow into the tech industry as a launchpad to a great career, while staying true to their own identity and finding a sense of belonging. 

“I had an ‘aha’ moment in 2020, realising that I had the privilege of understanding a system of success for 20 years that led to me being able to do what I'd wanted – to provide for my family and succeed in business. I also acknowledged though, by leaning into that, and less so into my whole self and all of my identity, I had not been able to develop or really embrace, in this case, my Māori heritage.  

“And with that realisation came a sense of ‘I know that I'm not alone’. Who else out there has felt the same way about a sense of not belonging, but also hasn't had the kind of privilege that I've had to succeed? How can we provide that access to others so that they can also figure out that system quickly, while helping them come to terms with how important it is to understand who they are, where they come from?”, Nathan explains. 

A people-first approach 

While participants learn world-class technical skills, embedded in Rea’s programme are tools that encourage candidates to bring all of themselves to work environments. Nathan recognised that in-demand soft-skills were just as critical to a candidate's success in the workplace. “Too many of us don't believe in ourselves and have the confidence that we can grow and that we can fit in. We see it in a huge percentage of our learners, and especially in Māori and Pacific communities.” 

“We knew our curriculum had to be very people centric. It's an incredible advantage once you do have the skills to manage self and connect with others - I mean, that is what the world is all about and until you've got those things you can't really fully activate or realise the potential of whatever domain skills you've got. If you really want to supercharge tech skills, you want great people skills, because then the tech stuff can have its greatest chance of being present in the right conversations with others. After all, every business is a function of people.” 

Supporting diversity in our industry 

For Brightly, we see a partnership with Rea not just as a way to address a talent problem, but an opportunity to do so in alignment with our own vision of supporting increased diversity within tech. 

“Diversity in the workplace is a thing that has tended, if it exists, to be there by default, it's just the way the cards are formed. It hasn't necessarily been by design. And if it doesn't happen by design, then we don't necessarily, as an employer, have a toolkit for welcoming more diverse people, but also supporting them to bring all of themselves into the workplace”, Nathan says.  

“When it's important strategically to get in behind diversity initiatives, as it is with the awesome team at Brightly, it's not always easy to figure out how to actually do something about it. It's a difficult problem to solve, but as a business owner or a leader you have to be intentional about systemically shifting the diversity and the sense of belonging that people can experience in the industry”. 

Nathan says: “I've been really impressed by Mike and the team at Brightly, not just because I think diversity is written into the way that they've decided to be a business. But to do it their way; that they are living their values through the choices they make and how they grow. I love that.” 

Real-world opportunities 

Rea is now on its third cohort of participants, with over 100 people either completed, or currently enrolled in the programme. Participants don’t need previous technology experience – they learn everything they need to get job-ready throughout a 7-month, part-time programme, with paid training starting after 4 months. 

In November 2022, Brightly welcomed our first two cadets, Jackie Leavai and Cameron Luangrath.