Domino’s partners with Talent RISE to provide employment opportunities for Māori and Pasifika youth

Domino’s is proud to partner with Talent RISE – a charitable foundation focused on providing Māori and Pasifika youth education and training based opportunities to gain meaningful employment.

Based in Wellington, Talent RISE was born out of the vision to change the lives of young people – a value shared by Domino’s.

“At Domino’s, we believe in helping people grow and prosper. And as one of New Zealand’s largest employers of young people, we recognise how important it is to teach our team members more than just how to make a pizza,” Domino’s New Zealand General Manager Daniel Hawkins said.

“A lot of our development and training initiatives focus on important life skills like teamwork, communication and accountability. Like our recently launched ‘Path to Excellence’ program, which is focused on accelerating the development of people through the Domino’s system: from today’s pizza maker or delivery driver to tomorrow’s store manager, franchisee, or business leader. This is reflected in our strong ‘promote from within’ mindset that has seen many develop longstanding careers at Domino’s. 

“By partnering with Talent RISE, we hope to show even more young people what life changing opportunities exist at Domino’s. For those who have a passion for people, and are hungry to learn – anything is possible!”

Domino’s partnership with Talent RISE includes a one hour meet and greet with a franchisee to learn the ins and outs of a ‘career in pizza’, followed by a two-hour ‘pizza school’ session where students visit a store to learn how to make a pizza, take a customer order, and prepare fresh batches of dough.

The first cohort of students in October 2022 were hosted by local Wellington franchisee Lucky Singh, who started as a Delivery Expert in 2010 and is now a multi-unit franchisee of six Domino’s stores in the Wellington and Lower North Island region.  

Talent RISE Manager Jessica Te Moananui said that through the partnership with Domino’s, the foundation hoped to inspire more rangatahi (youth) to consider career opportunities in the hospitality industry.

“Inspiring a young person and helping them through employment not only provides them purpose, structure and direction, it also positively impacts the lives of those around them and society at large.

“Talent RISE is committed to continuing to bridge the gap between employment and unemployment in New Zealand. Since launching in 2018, we have supported more than 100 rangatahi into meaningful employment across a range of industries, and have positively impacted the lives of over 300 young people through our programs.

“In partnership with Domino’s, we hope to continue to empower our rangatahi to actively participate in their learning, and seek meaningful career opportunities.”

Talent Rise graduate Jade Kopua said she enjoyed participating in pizza school and experiencing a ‘slice’ of the Domino’s action.

“Domino’s was a really great experience, Lucky and his team were very welcoming.  They taught us the basics and were interactive with us too.  Overall, I really enjoyed my time at the Domino’s store.”

Domino’s and Talent RISE look forward to welcoming the next cohort of students through the program in February 2023.  

To learn more about Talent RISE and their readiness to work program, visit: https://talentrise.org/rise-new-zealand/