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Urgent Reform Needed To Address Mental Health Crisis In NZ Construction

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12 hours ago

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Urgent Reform Needed To Address Mental Health Crisis In NZ Construction

Press Release – The Professional Builder Marti Amos says as part of a move to improve financial management in the sector he has now authored a book, The Profitable Builders Playbook, which is aimed at equipping builders with the business acumen needed to navigate these challenges. More needs to be done to address the high rates of suicide in the construction industry, according to the head of one of the world's largest mentoring services for the sector. Recent research shows New Zealand's construction sector is facing a mental health crisis, with suicide rates 25% higher than other sectors and Māori, Pasifika, female, migrant workers, apprentices and labourers among those at higher risk. This is due to a number of factors including financial instability, low pay and lack of mental health support. [1] Marti Amos (Ngāpuhi), a former marketing lecturer at Otago University and the New Zealand-based head of The Professional Builder, says these issues are amplified by the industry's boom-and-bust cycle, cost-of-living crisis and a training model that prioritises trade skills over business acumen. [2] 'Kiwi tradespeople are trained to excel on-site, they are underprepared to manage the multimilliondollar business aspects of their work, with dire consequences for their mental wellbeing. 'Our construction workers account for about 7% of workingage male suicides – with nearly one worker losing his life to suicide each week and the avoidable burden and impact of suicide in the NZ construction industry has been estimated at $1.1 billion per annum,' he says. Amos, whose coaching service has supported over 2,500 building companies worldwide over the past 21 years, says the growing mental health crisis among Kiwi builders requires a radical overhaul of the country's traditional construction model – with greater emphasis on financial literacy a priority. 'The New Zealand building industry is seeing its lowest levels of annual growth over a decade with a rate of just 0.6% in the second quarter of 2024 – a factor that is likely to exacerbate mental health concerns for many in the trade. 'Kiwi builders have been taught how to create outstanding projects, they're brilliant with the tools – but no one has taught them how to build a great business. 'In New Zealand and Australia, builders often employ their own teams and handle every aspect of a project themselves. This contrasts sharply with the U.S. model, where general contractors delegate tasks – reducing the burden on the individual,' he says. Amos says his concerns extend beyond the daily operational stresses that plague many builders. He says that without a proper understanding of financial management, many are left grappling with severe cashflow challenges, working long hours and sacrificing their personal lives – a situation that has, in many cases, led to overwhelming stress and deteriorating mental health. 'When you're constantly worrying about how to pay your subcontractors or secure payroll for the next week, it isn't just your business that suffers – it's your whole life,' he says. Amos says demand for targeted support from builders around the world is growing rapidly and his service, The Professional Builder (TPB), which started with a team of three people in 2004, has expanded to 56 and is projected to reach 100 employees within the next 18 months. Company revenue is also projected to double to $30 million within the same timeframe. He says TPB operates in five main countries: the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and their fastest growing market – Australia. The company has launched an expansion programme to grow the US market, with plans to increase their physical presence there and establish partnerships with hardware wholesalers, similar to their relationships with Carters, ITM and Mitre 10 in New Zealand. Amos says as part of a move to improve financial management in the sector he has now authored a book, The Profitable Builders Playbook, which is aimed at equipping builders with the business acumen needed to navigate these challenges. 'At the moment they're stuck on the builder's 'hamster wheel', caught in the weeds of daily operations without the skills to manage the large sums of money and complex challenges that come with running a construction company. 'What we need is to implement business training into apprenticeship programmes to ensure that our future generations of builders are as adept at managing large-scale financial responsibilities as they are at delivering quality craftsmanship. 'With a vital sector at risk and the mental health of thousands hanging in the balance, my message is clear: reform is essential. 'As New Zealand's construction industry stands at a crossroads, stakeholders must adopt a more balanced training model – one that nurtures not only technical excellence but also financial literacy and sustainable business practices. 'This call for change is more than an economic imperative; it is a matter of safeguarding the well-being of those who build our nation,' he says. More information on The Profitable Builders Playbook is available here [1] BRANZ. (2024). Workplace psychosocial stressors in the construction industry. Retrieved from here. [2] BRANZ. (2024). Workplace psychosocial stressors in the construction industry. Retrieved from here. Marti Amos Marti Amos (Ngāpuhi) is a business strategist, entrepreneur, and global mentor who has helped over 2,500 building company owners scale their businesses and achieve financial independence. As the founder of The Professional Builder (TPB), he has built a team of 56 professionals operating across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK, the US, and Puerto Rico, delivering business growth strategies for the construction sector. Born and raised in Stewart Island, Marti studied commerce at Otago University, where he pursued PhD research on branding. He lectured in Marketing and MBA programs, examined MCom theses, and worked as a Māori students' tutor and thesis officer in Otago's Commerce Division. As a Mannaki Scholarship recipient, he was also awarded the Otago University Postgraduate Māori Scholarship in 1998. Beyond academia, Marti has built eight businesses across wholesale, insurance, mortgage banking, cleaning, and coaching. As founder of Action Coach New Zealand, he ranked NZ's #1 business coach and #2 globally out of 1,250 coaches worldwide. His expertise in business scaling and financial strategy led him to develop TPB, which helps construction business owners increase profitability and efficiency through structured business systems and mentorship. His insights on business growth and financial resilience will be shared in his upcoming book, launching in May 2025.

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14 hours ago

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Urgent Reform Needed To Address Mental Health Crisis In NZ Construction

Press Release – The Professional Builder Marti Amos says as part of a move to improve financial management in the sector he has now authored a book, The Profitable Builders Playbook, which is aimed at equipping builders with the business acumen needed to navigate these challenges. More needs to be done to address the high rates of suicide in the construction industry, according to the head of one of the world's largest mentoring services for the sector. Recent research shows New Zealand's construction sector is facing a mental health crisis, with suicide rates 25% higher than other sectors and Māori, Pasifika, female, migrant workers, apprentices and labourers among those at higher risk. This is due to a number of factors including financial instability, low pay and lack of mental health support. [1] Marti Amos (Ngāpuhi), a former marketing lecturer at Otago University and the New Zealand-based head of The Professional Builder, says these issues are amplified by the industry's boom-and-bust cycle, cost-of-living crisis and a training model that prioritises trade skills over business acumen. [2] 'Kiwi tradespeople are trained to excel on-site, they are underprepared to manage the multimilliondollar business aspects of their work, with dire consequences for their mental wellbeing. 'Our construction workers account for about 7% of workingage male suicides – with nearly one worker losing his life to suicide each week and the avoidable burden and impact of suicide in the NZ construction industry has been estimated at $1.1 billion per annum,' he says. Amos, whose coaching service has supported over 2,500 building companies worldwide over the past 21 years, says the growing mental health crisis among Kiwi builders requires a radical overhaul of the country's traditional construction model – with greater emphasis on financial literacy a priority. 'The New Zealand building industry is seeing its lowest levels of annual growth over a decade with a rate of just 0.6% in the second quarter of 2024 – a factor that is likely to exacerbate mental health concerns for many in the trade. 'Kiwi builders have been taught how to create outstanding projects, they're brilliant with the tools – but no one has taught them how to build a great business. 'In New Zealand and Australia, builders often employ their own teams and handle every aspect of a project themselves. This contrasts sharply with the U.S. model, where general contractors delegate tasks – reducing the burden on the individual,' he says. Amos says his concerns extend beyond the daily operational stresses that plague many builders. He says that without a proper understanding of financial management, many are left grappling with severe cashflow challenges, working long hours and sacrificing their personal lives – a situation that has, in many cases, led to overwhelming stress and deteriorating mental health. 'When you're constantly worrying about how to pay your subcontractors or secure payroll for the next week, it isn't just your business that suffers – it's your whole life,' he says. Amos says demand for targeted support from builders around the world is growing rapidly and his service, The Professional Builder (TPB), which started with a team of three people in 2004, has expanded to 56 and is projected to reach 100 employees within the next 18 months. Company revenue is also projected to double to $30 million within the same timeframe. He says TPB operates in five main countries: the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand and their fastest growing market – Australia. The company has launched an expansion programme to grow the US market, with plans to increase their physical presence there and establish partnerships with hardware wholesalers, similar to their relationships with Carters, ITM and Mitre 10 in New Zealand. Amos says as part of a move to improve financial management in the sector he has now authored a book, The Profitable Builders Playbook, which is aimed at equipping builders with the business acumen needed to navigate these challenges. 'At the moment they're stuck on the builder's 'hamster wheel', caught in the weeds of daily operations without the skills to manage the large sums of money and complex challenges that come with running a construction company. 'What we need is to implement business training into apprenticeship programmes to ensure that our future generations of builders are as adept at managing large-scale financial responsibilities as they are at delivering quality craftsmanship. 'With a vital sector at risk and the mental health of thousands hanging in the balance, my message is clear: reform is essential. 'As New Zealand's construction industry stands at a crossroads, stakeholders must adopt a more balanced training model – one that nurtures not only technical excellence but also financial literacy and sustainable business practices. 'This call for change is more than an economic imperative; it is a matter of safeguarding the well-being of those who build our nation,' he says. More information on The Profitable Builders Playbook is available here [1] BRANZ. (2024). Workplace psychosocial stressors in the construction industry. Retrieved from here. [2] BRANZ. (2024). Workplace psychosocial stressors in the construction industry. Retrieved from here. Marti Amos Marti Amos (Ngāpuhi) is a business strategist, entrepreneur, and global mentor who has helped over 2,500 building company owners scale their businesses and achieve financial independence. As the founder of The Professional Builder (TPB), he has built a team of 56 professionals operating across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK, the US, and Puerto Rico, delivering business growth strategies for the construction sector. Born and raised in Stewart Island, Marti studied commerce at Otago University, where he pursued PhD research on branding. He lectured in Marketing and MBA programs, examined MCom theses, and worked as a Māori students' tutor and thesis officer in Otago's Commerce Division. As a Mannaki Scholarship recipient, he was also awarded the Otago University Postgraduate Māori Scholarship in 1998. Beyond academia, Marti has built eight businesses across wholesale, insurance, mortgage banking, cleaning, and coaching. As founder of Action Coach New Zealand, he ranked NZ's #1 business coach and #2 globally out of 1,250 coaches worldwide. His expertise in business scaling and financial strategy led him to develop TPB, which helps construction business owners increase profitability and efficiency through structured business systems and mentorship. His insights on business growth and financial resilience will be shared in his upcoming book, launching in May 2025.

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15 hours ago

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This Year's Te Matatini Biggest Yet

A new impact evaluation report on this year's Te Matatini shows that the 2025 festival was the biggest to date. The report showed that Te Matatini o Te Kāhui Maunga held in February in Ngāmotu New Plymouth, brought just under $24 million into Taranaki - $3 million less than forecasted but still the highest contribution from a festival to date. Tane Morgan is a director of New Plymouth based Proof & Stock Coffee which had a stall at Te Matatini. Over the festivals five days they sold 100kgs worth of coffee, he said. At WOMAD - the only festival in the region of a comparable size - Proof & Stock might go through 35kgs over three days, he said. Morgan said unlike WOMAD or a concert Te Matatini had a "peaceful flow about it". "The fact that no one was drinking and it had like this unique flow about it, everybody was taking their time there was a lot of courtesy... you could just feel it." Morgan said the festival certainly had an impact of the local economy in Taranaki - especially for hotels and camp grounds - but the impact was relative to what you were selling. Cafe's and restaurants in the city center might not have seen the same return on their investment, he said. "I don't think that the cafe's really benefited from it, but if you were at Te Matatini and you were a vendor or stall holder you would have seen good margins, that's the consensus that the town was kind of saying. "A lot of the businesses here were ready for the influx but they didn't quite see a return on their investment in terms of people out wining and dining." As well as their stall at Te Matatini Proof & Stock also has a coffee shop in New Plymouth, which Morgan said was quieter than during the festival. But Morgan said his team had an amazing time at the festival. His staff included included some local students learning on the job. "They walked out with a pocket full of cash and all this confidence they can use into the future," he said. Hāwera-based Kiri Erb owns and operates Tika Cafe and Catering and worked providing kai for the festival and for the competitors who were based out of Hāwera. She told RNZ being awarded a kai stall was both a privilege and a challenge. The scale of the event meant she had to boost the her staffing numbers from 32 to 50 so the business could accommodate the masses at the Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth and the restaurant in Hāwera. Erb said it was an experience her and the team will never forget. "This is an experience that will live in memory banks forever. We've taken videos of us working during that week, we had rōpu that would come in and they would perform for us... and we'd go back an look at those. Our hearts still really sing." "We all just feel incredibly lucky." Erb said. Te Matatini chief executive Carl Ross said the iwi of Taranaki had done a fantastic job catering for a growing festival. "The Matatini brand internationally has just got so big now, [its] becoming an economic powerhouse for our country, how do we actually utilise what we have now to be able to provide the Matatini festival in the best condition that we can do." There has also been an increased interest in kapa haka among non-Māori, 44 percent of attendees in 2025 were Pākehā up from an average of 27 percent over the last decade of festivals. Ross said over the years he has noticed more and more people from diverse communities wanting to share the Matatini experience. Of the $24m brought into the region more than $2m came from teams traveling to Taranaki to compete and another $17.4m was spent by their supporters. It's getting more and more expensive to send a team to Te Matatini and some regions don't have that kind of money to spend, Ross said. "We could have up to $160,000 to move a single team into a rohe and that's with just three supporters per kaihaka (performer)." Te Matatini now is looking to the future and ensure the festival can be enjoyed by everybody, he said. "Te Matatini and our Board are still in discussion's on how we can also ensure that we can meet the needs of our smaller rohe, because that's a question that was burning straight after the festival. Did we have our infrastructure in place to be able to try and do this in the next two years?" Te Matatini announced in May that the next festival in 2027 would not be hosted in Te Tauihu o te Waka-a-Māui/Nelson as had been expected and that they were looking for expressions of interest to host. Ross was hopeful that there will be an update on where Te Matatini goes next by the end of June. "[Te Matatini] supports the economy, the local economy and that's what is really cool about being able to travel to different rohe, being able to do that it's getting harder at the moment for sponsorships, we only got half the sponsorship that we usually get and it goes to show the economic environment [we're] currently working in, so I know it's hard out there and it's hard for our people."

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Urgent Reform Needed To Address Mental Health Crisis In NZ Construction

Urgent Reform Needed To Address Mental Health Crisis In NZ Construction

This Year's Te Matatini Biggest Yet

Netgear unveils new business strategy with AI & AV growth

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Urgent Reform Needed To Address Mental Health Crisis In NZ Construction

Urgent Reform Needed To Address Mental Health Crisis In NZ Construction

This Year's Te Matatini Biggest Yet

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