Waikato Young Professionals, a Networking Group that Caters to a Different Crowd in a Growing Hamilton
By Sebastian Bezuidenhout
Back row, left to right: Aroha Rangi Miller Lloydd, Mckenzie Northcott, Annabel Jordan
Front row left to right: Kaleb Williamson, Tyla Robinson, Carne Groube
Not pictured but also in the committee: Devesh Singh, Cameron Gribbon, and William Kingsbury
Networking is a key ingredient to the success of any business. It is so important that whole industries, both digital and in the real world, are dedicated to connecting professionals with their peers. You, as the reader, stand a good chance of being involved with both.
But what if you’re new to your industry? What if you feel isolated, and unwelcome at the events that you attend? What if, when you show up at an event, you feel like an imposter who scrounged up a suit and a degree on their way through the door? Everyday, young people are driven away from building crucial connections.
And what about businesses? They need to be able to locate new talent just as much as new talent needs to locate them, but if young people aren’t mingling at the social nights like they used to, then there’s no connections being built anywhere, for anyone who isn’t a young person.
Tyla Robinson, chairperson for Waikato Young Professionals, thinks that her organisation can help to solve these “new-to-the-industry” growing pains by hosting networking events catered towards the “newbies” — those with less than 7 years of experience in their field.
“We want to help people be well rounded — not just a good professional, but a well-developed person, too.”
Investment is a major theme of WYP, both in terms of the people who attend, and the business community that surrounds the group. Investment in the community comes from the aggregation of talent that occurs through the events.
Catering towards young people proves difficult, WYP understands this, and being young people themselves, are leveraging their youth to fill what they feel is a gap in the networking space. Their monthly events in Hamilton are open to “anyone who thinks they’ll benefit”, not just people from a specific industry.
WYP forgoes the traditional networking “yearly membership” model, instead charging on a by-the-event basis to provide their members with the flexibility to choose, and not lose out.
The events themselves are also different to the standard networking fare. WYP wants their events to be intimate, and personable. Attendance varies from 40-100 people, and the events themselves range from pickleball tournaments to annual balls to first home buyers workshops. Waikato Young Professional’s attitude towards their people can be summed up best by this line from Ms. Robinson:
Hamilton is growing in importance as a destination for big business, with companies like Jetstar and Sleepyhead moving into, or near, the city. Part of what draws organisations to Hamilton is the very pool of young talent that WYP represents. Young people can build a network, and employers have a veritable buffet of potential to choose from.
WYP also gives charity. Thanks to the non-profit Humanitix, all booking fees paid on tickets go to providing disadvantaged children with education. Tyla predicts that they’ll have raised $2000 by the end of the year.
In looking towards the future, WYP wants to expand the variety of industries represented by their attendees:
“People who work in the trades are professionals, too. The biggest thing for new members is seeing the diversity in events, and the trades are a huge part of both the economy and culture of the Waikato. To shut them out would be a mistake,” Ms. Robinson said.
Waikato Young Professionals hope to offer something different to the people who are still trying to find their footing in their respective fields. If this sounds like you, then consider going to their next event.
If you’re a hiring manager or business owner looking for young talent, take a look at their website.
