Maoris on the Move Looking out of the car window on the way to work, walking down the street to buy lunch, crossing Lambton Quay in a hurry, one cannot go far without seeing buildings large and small under construction. Comparing the building scene in 1970 with that in 1960, a decade ago, we cannot fail to notice several obvious differences; buildings are now being built more speedily and are going higher; more sophisticated cranes and machines are in use. However, one of the most important and significant differences to be noted is the number of Maoris employed in the construction industry. Driving bulldozers, working below ground level or up to the penthouse, carrying, cutting and welding steel, Maoris are on the move. Drilling, lifting, measuring and sawing timber, mixing and pouring concrete, working and laughing, Maoris are on the move. If we look more closely at these Maori construction workers, we will notice two things; first their youthfulness — a reminder that the bulk of the Maori population is under twenty years old; secondly, and much more important — many of these young Maoris are doing skilled jobs. We are now able to look back on a decade of special Maori Trade Training in Carpentry which started as a result of liaison between the Department of Maori Affairs (as it then was) and the Technical Institutes. The Department undertook the work of recruiting suitable young men, transporting, housing and supervising them. Job placement, on the site training and finance for the scheme were also their responsibility. The Technical Institutes for their part provided tutors and complete up-to-date technical training facilities. The first carpentry trainees in 1959 were involved in what was then an experiment. This was a scheme to intensively train young and unsophisticated Maoris from the country to become tradesmen and to fit them both into the construction industry and into city life — in the space of two years. A challenge indeed! An experiment that had social, racial and economic implications. What has been the result of such an experiment? Have sufficient numbers of With five stories and three wings of laboratories and classrooms, the first stage of the new Central Institute of Technology at Heretaunga gives an indication of its future size. Halls of Residence for all students are part of the future buildings