Twenty new kaimahi were formally welcomed on Tuesday, 21 October 2025.
Since starting in their new roles, Marketing Digital Experience Specialist, Ellen Boucher and Maths Learning Advisor, Noah Mataia, both say they have resonated with our whānau environment having both from close-knit families.
And seeing already the strong connections between kaimahi and ākonga, they believe they’ve made the right choice to work for us.
Executive Director Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga emphasised that each brought their own skills, experience and backgrounds which adds to our institution’s rich diversity. They also made a difference in their mahi serving our learners wherever they worked in the organisation.
“You’ve chosen to be part of our whānau, which on 1st January 2026, which will be a combined Unitec-MIT entity.
“The beauty of where we work, where we are, is we acknowledge the mana whenua and tangata whenua of this land, the ancestors who came before, and we celebrate the diversity that you bring,” says Mr Lotu-Iiga.
DCE Academic Prof Martin Carroll reiterated Unitec’s commitment to supporting our kaimahi in their work: “We are here to help people in Tāmaki Makaurau and those coming here to make the world better for themselves and their whānau. That is what education and training is ultimately all about.”
Continuing family legacy
Noah Mataia is not entirely new to Unitec. His father Stephen is a well-known face in the Unitec whānau having previously worked here for over twenty years. While his mother and both grandparents have also worked with us.
“I’ve spent three weeks with the Learning and Achievement team, and they are lovely people. But this is nothing I wasn’t expecting since I sort of grew up around Unitec.
“I remember walking around these grounds and interacting with a lot of the staff as a kid. Some of them are still here! I used to catch the train after school and come here. It just feels good to be back.”
Noah steps into big shoes replacing long serving kaimahi, the late Lance Laulala who passed away in July this year. Mr Mataia is aware of his legacy and shares the same passion for helping our ākonga navigate their way through their studies.
“It’s one of the reasons why I applied for this role – just to help students that might need help with anything mathematics related, or numbers related.
“I remember being a student, even though it’s a few years ago now, but it helps to have someone who you can speak to. And it might be just silly questions, but at least they have someone they can air things out to and get some feedback and get help along the way which I find pretty fulfilling.”
Mr Mataia previously worked as a forensic analyst for multinational professional services company, Deloitte within their risk advisory team.
“A lot of it was sort of heavy numbers and accounting finance-based, which was my background. So I think it’s just being able to tell stories with numbers which is my strength. Numbers was always something that I quite enjoyed,” he adds.
Born and raised in West Auckland, Noah attended St Peter’s College and then AUT. After graduating, he spent a few years travelling and playing rugby in England and The Netherlands.
“My wife and I decided to move back as we were expecting our first child and there was no place we’d rather be than being close to family.”
Home away from Home
Despite being with us for only a few weeks, Ellen Boucher already feels at home, even though home is all the way in southern England in the town of Basingstoke.
“It’s one of those towns that people say, oh, well, I went through there when I was on my OE,” Ellen laughs.
Ms Boucher moved to New Zealand in 2009, living in Wellington where she met her husband who is from Auckland.
Ellen previously worked at a private healthcare organisation doing content creation in various capacities. She has also worked extensively in tertiary education environments which she feels equips her well for her new role.
With her family on the other side of the planet, Ms Boucher says it was reassuring to hear the whānau message at her pōwhiri.
“I’m slowly learning everything, but I felt really welcomed by my team. They’re all great people. I came away thinking this is going to be a good place to work at and it’s great to have this whare here too,” she says.
“Unitec’s kaupapa is something that resonates with me. Just wanting the best for the learners, wanting them to be set up for success and whatever they’re doing and helping them achieve what they want to see.”
Aroha -welcome to the Unitec whanau.