Jack Baggaley
Helix Global
Jack Baggaley, born and raised in Tāmaki Makaurau, got the push from his māmā to navigate a new future in Ōtautahi. Arriving before the earthquakes, Jack was part of the first iteration of He Toki, otherwise known back then, as the Māori and Pacific Trades Training. He is now a significant kaimahi of Helix Global, training and mentoring rangatahi who have graduated from He Toki. Here he reflects on He Toki, his journey in the industry, and at Helix Global.
“And that was it, I was gonna be a builder.”
Jack’s pathway to the building industry started early with a significant mentor who opened the door to an opportunity. “I left school quite early; I think about 15-16, went to do a pre-employment course in Papatoetoe, Auckland and one of my tutors grew up in Otara as well, and it was around the gangs and the violence and stuff like that up there. He chose to go down a different path and he really stuck with me, and I think I really stuck with him. He was like ‘what do you wanna do?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know what I wanna do,’ so he was like ‘I’ll take you here and see if you like it or not.’ He dropped me off and signed me up. And that was it, I was gonna be a builder.”
How does it feel seeing how the He Toki journey has evolved and seeing He Toki students/alumni come through here [Helix Global]?
It was only once jumping in with Helix that I actually realised what they [He Toki] do and how we were able to jump on that waka and help those coming through – the rangatahi. That’s part of the reason why I jumped in with Reegan, because at the beginning we had those discussion. Part of the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing, trying to go into construction management, was probably to be a bit of a role model for these young fellas coming on site. I noticed when I was younger, about 18-19 on site, some of these big sites, I didn’t see a tremendous number of Māori or PI (Pacific Islander) leaders in those roles. I could probably count them all on one hand.
Growing up in Auckland, Jack wanted to expand his horizons, “to let my nephews see that there is a different route – no disrespect to factory workers but that’s a lot of what my whānau do – and let them know that we can do something else if we want to.”
Jack thinks of his whānau every step of the way, given the opportunities that building has presented to him that have benefited him and his whānau. “We’ve got a bit of land in Waikato, up North, we don’t really have much there, but I hated going there and camping as a kid. I always thought, man, I would love to go there and build a toilet and a shower. Make it a bit more comfortable for my mum n that, and me, when I get a bit older.”
Since becoming qualified, he and his brother, who is also a builder, have gone back to contribute to the land. “We haven’t quite made the toilet and shower, but we’ve got an urupā there in the centre of this valley, and all the steps have been there since I remember, so we managed to go back in the last couple of years to build some new steps up to the urupā. Me and my brother planned it, executed it, and then we had to go back and do a sort of mini retaining wall. So that, to me, is a big win, I’ve sort of ticked a box there, if you will, gone back and done some mahi.”
You spoke on impacts you could make for rangatahi in the industry, what does your practice look like today with rangatahi? How are you working with them?
I suppose it’s a bit of working from my past experiences and how I went through those processes, and sort of how I try to help them navigate through that. I try to be a bit more engaged with them than my foremen and teachers were when I was coming through on the tools and stuff, which is a bit easier here because we’re quite small numbers y’know, some of the companies I have worked with in the past, there’s a lot of numbers there, so it was hard to get that one-on-one tutoring and training.
I try to encourage the apprentices to have a bit more of an understanding in the details of the drawings and the [building] standards, giving them the opportunity to brush through and even read through some of the standards that we are following and sort of pulling them in the direction where they can find the information themselves ... the extra knowledge to know that the information is right within those plans and specifications and the ability to cross reference that, check that it’s right, because ultimately, we’re the ones doing the mah i… ultimately it gives you the confidence that you’re doing it right.
Thinking back on your time in He Toki, did it have a significant impact on your career trajectory and your pathways?
What came from a casual chat on a golf course and a meeting with who he calls, ‘a lovely lady by the name of Ari,’ Jack felt well looked after when entering He Toki. She sorted me out, pretty much did everything for me, set me up on I’m pretty sure was my first email. Only thing that I really knew then was that my fees were getting paid for the first year or whatever it was, so for me, it was probably a big burden off my shoulders, not having to deal with y’know figuring out how to pay for my studies. So yeah, I suppose that sort of encouraged me to keep going, because it was a start. I was able to have a bit of a taste, a trial to see how deep the water was before I continued with another couple of years training. They sort of helped me learn how to paddle before it got too deep.
What advice do you have for rangatahi looking at the industry?
Figuring out your why is probably the biggest thing – I said my why was probably my whānau and me and the ability to be able to help, contribute, in some way. Why do you want to do it. Who for? What for?
