Other areas where Māori are needed are in research, and those skilled in te reo and tikanga are needed to share their knowledge.
"More and more NGOs and government departments are looking at how they can give effect to Te Tiriti. They need people out there to help them. That's one area Māori can provide to businesses."
One focus is on encouraging young people to study maths, science and technology - fields with plenty of job opportunities.
Another is the transition from school to training or jobs, Hina said. Whanganui has a lot of programmes for this - Gateway, YES, 100% Sweet.
They can give rangatahi a taste of working life - but it does come at a cost to the business.
"It takes a resource to spend time with kids doing work experience," she said, but the Tertiary Education Commission could provide funding.
Hina is also on the board of Te Manu Atatū, Whanganui's Māori business network. She said it had 390 small and medium-sized Māori businesses in its database, and the network's role was to help them succeed.
There were so many workshops and resources available it was almost "information overload", she said.
"It's really about trying to clear a path for people to take advantage of those opportunities."
Her main job was being group operations manager for Rangitīkei iwi Ngā Wairiki Ngāti Apa.
The iwi hosts training courses from other providers at its Marton site, Te Poho o Tuariki.
Its holistic health service, Te Kotuku Hauora, can help people write CVs, get driver's licences and wear the right clothes to interviews.
"When people are employed and in training, getting the skills, they will be well," she said.
The many groups focused on making improvements are working together better than in the past, and they are making a difference.
The Manawatū-Whanganui region didn't get any of the $14.2 million given to 11 providers in the He Poutama Rangatahi initiative for Māori youth. But it had a lot of Provincial Growth Fund help over the past two years, and it had other projects on the go, Hina said.
The Government's action plan has set a list of tasks it hopes to achieve such as using tikanga in employment policy, improve education outcomes for Māori learners and improving education provided on mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and te reo Māori.
Other tasks include researching how workplaces can be more inclusive for Māori workers and how more flexible work could benefit them.
Whanganui & Partners, Whanganui's economic development agency, supported the Government action plan, capability strategic lead Lou Walker said.
Māori make up a significant proportion of the Whanganui population.
There were 4433 Māori employed in 2021, a rise of 1.9 per cent on 2020. That growth was higher than for the region as a whole, where employment grew 1.5 per cent.
Manufacturing employed 20 per cent of Māori, 15 per cent worked in health care and 10 per cent worked in education and training.
Overall, 29 per cent were in highly skilled jobs, and 11 per cent in skilled jobs, with the rest in semi- or low-skilled jobs, Walker said.
In the Whanganui District, Māori unemployment was higher than that for New Zealand as a whole in 2021 - 9.8 per cent compared to 8.3 per cent.
Whanganui & Partners was happy to see Māori employment rates improve, and Walker said education and training were important in that.
"Māori in Whanganui make up a significant and valuable portion of our entrepreneurial and creative communities," Walker said.
