Sharon Macquarie started iSkills 21 years ago from her kitchen table after seeing the opportunity in the workplace training sector. 

She had been working as a registered workplace assessor for the Electricity Supply ITO and helped develop NZQA assessments (which were relatively new at the time). This saw her going to workplaces and helping upskill staff on site. 

In 2000, she set up iSkills, a Private Training Establishment and over the past two decades has been refining the business to meet the demands of various workplaces and industries. 

“For the first decade, we were focused on business qualifications, health & safety, project management and the like, and then because of the nature of the sectors we were working in it morphed into technical training.

“Then, in 2015, the health and safety legislation changed, which saw us move into competency management as well.”

Today, iSkills offers a comprehensive suite of training courses for businesses – from apprenticeships, high risk safe working courses, to team leadership and adult ed. 

Meanwhile, iskills Competency Verification services provides an independent reliable way to ensure workers and contractors meet company, client, industry, legislative and regulatory requirements for the work they are required to carry out.

Sharon also has a unique workforce, with a predominately female team despite working in male dominated industries.  With the roles demanding them to be as comfortable on a worksite as they are in a boardroom, it attracts a diverse range of people to the company. 

“We have some that came from hairdressing, a couple of ex-fire fighters, ex-hospitality, ex-admin from various industries and a lot of multinationals as well – French, South African, English, Swedish, Australian and Fijian.”

iskills was recently nominated for the People & Culture Award in the Westpac Tauranga Business Awards 2020 and says this comes down to ensuring they have the right people for the team and their values. 

“We get a lot of applicants for jobs and it just comes down to personality and best fit. We like people to have skills as well, but the most important thing is having a good attitude and drive.”