Workup Ventures

We don't just advise on the future of work. We build it.

Workup is a human-centred design and strategy practice. Ventures is where we put that discipline to work on the problems that matter most. We turn mission-critical, human challenges into things that actually exist, starting with New Zealand's workforce.

See the challenge → Visit workin ↗
Critical-infrastructure workers on the tools — the workforce we help sectors reach
The challenge

How might we attract and retain the next generation of talent?

Every unfilled role is work that doesn't get done. New Zealand's critical industries keep the lights on, the water running and the country moving. Right now, all of them are facing a workforce cliff.

The talent is there. The pathways into these careers stay invisible, fragmented and poorly communicated to the people who'd be good at them.

workin has already mapped it:

10
critical industries mapped
72
source-traceable career roles
~200k
modelled workforce shortfall by 2036
9
Crown & open data sources behind it

01Government-flagged shortages

Many of these roles appear on official government shortage lists. These are occupations where demand already outstrips the people available to do the work.

02Lifeline industries

These industries provide the services and infrastructure essential to the country. Many are formally recognised as lifeline utilities.

03A widening gap to 2036

Independent projections compare expected demand with expected supply through to 2036. Projections are estimates, but the trend is unmistakable: demand is pulling away from supply.

04An interconnected workforce

Industries share the same trades, technical skills and practical capabilities. Shortages aren't isolated problems. They are a shared, national one.

Proven in the field
“The career pathways are not accessible or understood by young employees and apprentices, even inside organisations that are succeeding in designing and developing pathway programmes.”

Re-Energise ESI Workforce Strategy · Waihanga Ara Rau, 2022

Venture 01

workin — our response.

workin is a free, science-based platform that organises career pathways around industries rather than job titles. So New Zealanders discover the careers that keep the country running. It's the engine your sector plugs into.

10
critical industries, real career pathways
3 min
free, science-based career match
$0
free to every New Zealander
How we partner with your sector

Services built around your sector's reality.

Every engagement starts with listening. We co-design with your team, so what we build reflects the authentic reality of working in your industry.

Industry co-design workshop — tradespeople mapping their sector's story on a wall of insights
01 — Strategy

Co-design & industry messaging

We work alongside your team to develop a shared vision, an authentic industry story and messaging that resonates with the people you need to reach: school leavers, career changers, and the communities most underrepresented in your workforce.

  • Shared vision and narrative development
  • Industry voice and tone framework
  • Audience segmentation and targeting
  • Content and campaign planning
On location filming a career-pathway story with a real infrastructure crew
02 — Production

Film direction & content production

We direct, shoot and edit career-pathway videos built around the people who actually do the work, filmed where they do it.

↗ The ESI career series reached 17,000+ views through organic growth alone.

  • Storyboard development and creative direction
  • Principal photography on location
  • Professional editing and post-production
  • Full social-media publishing and distribution
workin.power — a live workforce-intelligence dashboard
03 — Platform

Exclusive platform access

Industry partners get exclusive access to the workin career-matching platform. That includes a fully built-out sector profile, Career Match integration, and opted-in matched registrants from your industry. As it grows, partners access new features first.

  • Dedicated sector page on workin.co.nz
  • Career Match integration and matching
  • Opted-in registrant referrals
  • Sector workforce-intelligence reporting
  • Priority access to new features
workin.power — a live workforce-intelligence dashboard for the electricity supply industry, showing engagement, supply-vs-demand to 2036 and media watch-time by role
For partners · on the platform

A live workforce dashboard for your sector.

Behind workin sits a workforce-intelligence layer. It's a live, sector-specific dashboard that turns real engagement into supply-and-demand insight. It shows which careers are capturing interest, where that interest is growing, and where the talent pipeline looks healthy or thin.

It updates continuously, so founding partners can see where the shortages are, which pathways are filling them, and where to invest next.

Request access →
What partners get

Exclusive to founding industry partners.

Industry integration

Your sector integrated into the workin interest inventory. Users are matched to your industry on their psychometric profile.

Workforce intelligence

Aggregated interest data for your sector: what's drawing people in, and how satisfied current workers are.

Matched registrant referrals

Opted-in individuals matched to your sector, ready to receive information about careers and pathways in your industry.

Career video integration

Your produced content embedded on the platform and distributed across social channels to the right audiences.

Pathway mapping

Full visual career-pathway mapping for every role in your sector, from school-leaver entry through to senior positions.

First access to new features

Founding partners shape the platform's development and get priority access to new tools as they launch.

Build with us

Help build the workforce that keeps New Zealand running.

Whether you're an industry partner, a funder, or an agency shaping the future workforce, if it's mission-critical and human, it's exactly what Workup Ventures exists for.

simon@workup.co.nz →