Te Awa Tārai – A career development guide for Allied Health - Hauora Haumi

Career development is often conceptualised as a linear progression. In reality, career progression often takes a winding path, which both shapes and is shaped by its environment. 

Te Awa Tārai acts as a guide through which individual professionals, educators, industries and organisations can recognise, value and invest in necessary skills for current and emerging hauora haumi – allied health career opportunities. This purposefully includes acknowledgement of cultural intelligence and expertise, lived experiences and mātauranga Māori, to safeguard the delivery of equitable, effective, safe and sustainable health services in Aotearoa.

Te Awa Tārai acknowledges the true diversity of the skill sets and career pathways which exist across hauora haumi - allied health professions. It provides support and guidance to allow people and organisations to best utilise, engage with and sustain this critical and highly skilled workforce. 

This guidance document describes six broad development streams and identifies progressive development stages – riverbanks – for each stream. It accommodates the numerous existing career pathways available allied health professionals while allowing for emerging careers and pathways to be developed.