Mana in Mahi – Strength in Work: Evaluation

Mana in Mahi – Strength in Work is an employment programme that aims to support people at risk of long-term benefit receipt into permanent sustainable work while gaining an apprenticeship or formal industry qualification.

Mana in Mahi can include a wage subsidy, payment of course fees, educational support and pastoral care for employees and employers. It also offers a training pathway that includes industry training qualifications such as apprenticeships. The employee can receive phased incentive payments if they remain in employment and continue their training.

Mana in Mahi has had several delivery phases as it has developed from initial pilot in August 2018 to an established product. Differences in phases reflect changes to settings including those to support New Zealanders affected by the economic downturn associated with COVID-19. Examples of these are eligibility, duration of programme, level of financial subsidy and number of places.

Evaluation of Mana in Mahi was carried out to understand its implementation, employee and employer participation and retention, employee outcomes, and programme impact. The evaluation included three key components: a mixed methods evaluation and a Kaupapa Māori evaluation to understand participant experiences and outcomes, and an impact evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the programme.

Key evaluation findings include:

• Mana in Mahi creates employment for people employers would otherwise not hire.
• Mana in Mahi is an effective programme. Participants have increased time in employment, education or training and time off benefit compared with a comparison group.
• Positive impacts were strongest under earlier settings which targeted those on main benefits.
• Employees needed substantial pastoral support to remain in the programme and in their employment, especially in the first six months. This was especially so for young participants, those new to work or who had not been in work for a long time, and for Māori.
• When used, the available pastoral support was valued and helped some participants to retain employment.
• While not specifically designed for Māori, many of the generic features of Mana in Mahi have benefited Māori.

MSD has responded by making operational changes to improve delivery of Mana in Mahi, and to ensure a greater proportion of those supported by the programme are people on Jobseeker Support.

Mana in Mahi – Strength in Work: A summary of key evaluation findings

This A3 summarises findings from the evaluation of Mana in Mahi – Strength in Work from its launch in August 2018 to October 2023.

Mixed Methods Evaluation of Phase 2 and the Expansion of Mana in Mahi

The mixed methods evaluation surveyed all employees and employers (both those current at the time and those no longer participating), and undertook qualitative research with a sample of participants to understand the experience of those involved in Mana in Mahi (MSD staff, pastoral care provider staff, employees, and employers). Allen+Clarke were contracted to complete this.

Mana in Mahi Māori Evaluation

A Kaupapa Māori evaluation by Kaipuke Consultants Limited focused specifically on the experience of Māori participants, and examined whether Mana in Mahi creates positive and sustainable outcomes for Māori.

Mana in Mahi – Strength in Work: Impact report

The impact evaluation used data from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) to understand the impacts of participating in Mana in Mahi, relative to a comparison group.

Mana in Mahi prototype – Formative and Process Evaluation

Read the evaluation of the Mana in Mahi prototype, conducted in 2019.