Career stories from Pasifika peoples

Work as a firefighter is full of variety, as Danny Tafeamaalii explains. "Over the years I’ve attended plenty cat-up-tree incidents. Some officers have different theories; they might reassure the person that the cat will come down when it’s hungry, while others will just grab a ladder, climb up and grab it. I guess you could say every job is different."

Read more about the challenges of Danny Tafeamaalii's job as a firefighter

Leilani Burgoyne had a special reason for choosing to become a foreign policy officer. "I'm of Samoan descent and a key objective for me is to make a difference to the Pacific region by making a meaningful contribution to the Pacific's development, and New Zealand's engagement with it."

Read more about the different things Leilani Burgoyne does as a foreign policy officer

Name a sport, and Junior Fuifui Te'eva has probably played it. He might have helped design a curriculum for teaching it too. "My whole family is involved in education. And I wanted to get into that area too. My background was in health education, so I did a bit of teaching in that area prior to taking on this job."

Read about how Junior Fuifui Te'eva's lifelong passion for sports helped him in his job as an educational adviser

When Tana Lisale is asked what keeps him interested in his job as a sewing machinist, his answer is simple. “I enjoy making dresses and it’s always different dresses. And I like seeing something looking really good on display in the shop and thinking, ‘That’s something I made’. That’s really cool.”

Read more about what Tana Lisale does in his job as a sewing machinist

Communication officer Phil McGrath gets a lot of satisfaction from his job. “When I hear stories of young Pacific people getting a good education in science and technology that makes me feel fantastic. I know we have promoted the Government’s aims of higher education and really reached these kids who are doing something truly positive with their lives.”

Read about what qualities Phil McGrath thinks you need to be a communication officer

Social work involves dealing with a variety of situations each day, and that is what Janine Olasa loves about it. "One of the brilliant things about this job is that every day is an opportunity to learn so much more, and it can be from the smallest interaction. There are so many facets to mental health and every day presents new learning."

Read more about how Janine Olasa got to be a social worker

“Everyone is interesting in their own way. It’s fascinating hearing what people have to say and their different opinions about society,” says Rochelle Tapuai, who works as a survey interviewer for a market research company.

Read about how Rochelle Tapuai's job as a survey interviewer boosted her confidence