A chance conversation and the support of Mayors Taskforce for Jobs were all the fuel needed to ignite a career path for Hurunui’s Ethan Purvis (24).

This month, Purvis advanced his career with a well-earned promotion to the role of Kaikōura District Council Information Technology Site Support officer.

Purvis’s journey to success began in 2021, when he joined the Hurunui District Council’s Mayors Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) Community Employment Programme, a nationwide partnership between Mayors Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) and the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), with a strong focus on getting young people into sustainable employment.

“I began with the Taskforce Group, doing odd jobs around the council, mostly landscaping,” says Purvis. “I never imagined where it would take me.”

It was a chance conversation in the hallway of Council’s office in Amberley that was to direct Purvis’s future.

“I mentioned to my MTFJ support person that I liked computers. I’d worked on them and been around them all my life. He took what I said and turned around, asking if I was interested in giving Information Technology a go. I said, ‘Sure!’.”

A vacancy was available for an IT Cadet at Hurunui Council and it was an easy match to connect Purvis’s interests with an opportunity to develop his skills. In December last year, Purvis successfully obtained his Diploma in Information and Technology.

Hurunui Mayor Marie Black says MTFJ’s role in facilitating community connections like these is the magic that makes change possible in the lives of MTFJ candidates.

“MTFJ makes real change for people at grassroots level. We’re proud of Ethan for making the most of this opportunity, putting in the mahi and studying for his diploma while working full-time. From starting on the Taskforce Group, he has gone on to take a major step in his career.”

Purvis is pleased to be using his skills to now support others to do their jobs as a valuable member of the Information Technology team.

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