Quentin Whareumu has had only "odd jobs" since leaving high school 10 years ago.
So the 26-year-old is delighted the Te Matarau Education Trust has teamed up with NorthTec to provide trades training for Maori and Pasifika learners.
Mr Whareumu has enrolled to learn carpentry as he would eventually like to build a home at Whakapara where he now lives.
Fees-free trades training for Mori and Pasifika 18-35 year olds in courses such as forestry, hospitality, construction, painting and, in the future, automotive engineering, will start in the Far North, Mid North, Whangarei, Dargaville and Kaiwaka on July 21.
The trust is a new hapu-iwi collective of Te Uri o Hau, Ngatiwai, Ngati Hau, Ngati Hine, Ngati Rangi and Te Aupouri.