Who Gets to Work in Tech?
A conversation with Alan Kan, Co-Founder of Mission Ready
New Zealand has a tech talent problem - and it isn't what most people think. It isn't a lack of interest. It isn't a lack of capability. It's a system that has, for too long, defined potential too narrowly.
Alan Kan saw that gap early. As co-founder of Mission Ready, he built one of New Zealand's most credible tech training organisations from the ground up - one designed not around what the education system found convenient, but around what the industry actually needs and what capable people genuinely deserve.
In this episode of Assertions, we sit down with Alan to trace the journey - from his own unconventional path into tech, to the founding of Mission Ready, to the real challenge of earning trust from employers who'd never hired outside the traditional pipeline. We talk about what New Zealand's tech talent landscape looks like today, who it's leaving behind, and what it will take to change that.
We also explore the partnership between Mission Ready and Assertio - what it is, why it exists, and what it's building toward.
This is a conversation about pathways, potential, and the kind of pragmatic optimism it takes to change an industry from the inside.
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