Case Study: Hack Tāmaki
In 2020 the Tāmaki Regeneration Company came to us to discuss a hackathon they planned to hold, and we put up our hand to host the event in our offices because it was so aligned with two of our core values; to Create a Positive Impact to our people and the community around us, and to Encourage Innovation and the Entrepreneurial Spirit. Jacobsen sponsored the 48-hour hackathon event by hosting over the weekend 26—28 March 2021.
The purpose was to bring together the country’s top tech talent to unlock the potential of businesses and community in Tāmaki. It was led by The Kerry Topp Collective and T3W, with support from Tāmaki Regeneration, Datacom and Auckland Unlimited. Jacobsen actively participated in the challenge, focusing on how we could unlock better opportunities for our local community amidst all the construction work taking place in Tāmaki. With over 10,000 new homes on the way, the population is set to more than double and we all want to see Tāmaki residents prosper and enhance wellbeing in the community, especially for Māori and Pasifika. At the same time there is a severe skills shortage in the flooring industry that is only set to worsen with an aging workforce that is under-represented within the 15—25 age bracket.
The hackathon consisted of 5 challenges:
- A food business struggling to reach customers in the post-COVID working-from-home environment.
- Students unable to find suitable career pathways.
- Local iwi looking to share their history in meaningful ways.
- Assisting consumers and households to make sensible financial decisions.
- Our own challenge of filling the labour shortage in the flooring trade and helping underrepresented groups gain successful careers.
Outcomes from the weekend:
• 100 participants working on solutions for these 5 challenges, made up of;
• 33% Māori & Pasifika.
• 41% Female.
• 20% Tāmaki Residents.
• 50% Previous Experience in Hackathons.
Outcomes since the Hack Tāmaki event include:
- Tamaki Connect network formed with the weekend’s challenge leaders to ensure progress is made on each of our projects following the success of the hackathon. We aim to uplift, unlock and help hold each other accountable for making bold change for good in each of our respective focus areas.
- Jacobsen formed a partnership with Tāmaki College to speak to their trades academy about flooring as a profession, and to provide an experiential opportunity engaging with their trades academy in an upcoming flooring installation where Jacobsen will volunteer their staff time to work alongside the students.
- Engagement with the Tāmaki Skills and Jobs Hub, and Tāmaki College, regarding Jacobsen work pathways. We have since employed 7 people from our local community, 5 of which are not our full time employees and 2 in part time employment. We are working towards an internship program with the local community to open pathways as a local employer and to help develop our own talent pipeline.
- Working on a pilot model for how Jacobsen can support industry training and employment.