Young people

East Coast’s young people are our future leaders.

We want our young people to make positive choices about their future and to have the right information to make good life decisions. Young people are most successful when they have a purpose. Education, training and work offer that purpose.

If our young people get into trouble with the law, we want to help get them on the right track. For the small number of young people who are committing serious crimes, we’re taking action in an effort to stop them from becoming career criminals.

Youth employment

Over a third of the East Coast’s population is aged under 24 years. We know that in a tightening labour market young people may not have the skills to compete. Our challenge is to make sure these young people are supported into further education or training so they can get the right skills, or into employment where they can learn on the job.

Our work brokers work closely with young people who are receiving a benefit to make sure they are quickly connected to employment or training.

We hold weekly one-on-one meetings with young jobseekers to help them focus their job search activities. We also make sure all these young people are connected with our Youth Transition Services (YTS). We have two YTS in the East Coast Region - in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

Youth Opportunities package
Times are hard for communities and their young people. The number of young people who don’t have a job is four times higher now than it was this time last year. The Government announced the Youth Opportunities package, working with employers and communities to find opportunities for 16 to 24-year-olds, to work, train or stay in education.

In 2009/2010 as part of the Youth Opportunities package we will:

• fund entry-level jobs for six months, to build experience and confidence
• make 3,000 places for young people to work on community projects
• create extra job training placements through industry partnerships
• expand the Limited Service Volunteer Scheme by an extra 1,250 places.

This year we will be providing more places for young people in our local industry partnerships training programmes. We will also build partnerships with industries identified as having high levels of youth employment to get more young people into work.

Getting young people to reach their potential

Lots of our young people are doing just fine. They know what they are good at, what they enjoy doing and how that might become a part of their plan for the future. They know how to put that plan into action. We can give these young people opportunities to participate in development activities and decision making.

Youth voices
We are helping young people on the East Coast to have a say in and to engage with their communities through two projects. In Hastings, a youth forum and youth leadership programme is being established to help young people develop employment and life skills, better understand how to engage with local government and youth services and how to participate and volunteer in their communities.

In Wairoa, the YROA YNOT! project supports young people on the newly developed youth council, and provides mentoring and leadership training and sport and recreational activities.

Student support
Over the next year we will extend the MyStudyLink online account service so students can assess their eligibility for most forms of support and apply for it online in one seamless process.

Getting young people on the right path

We provide intensive programmes for those young people who are already in the youth justice system, or who are very close to entering it.

Fresh Start
In August 2009 the Prime Minister announced an expanded Fresh Start for Young Offenders programme, building on the youth justice announcements made earlier in the year. The aim of the programme is to stop young people from reoffending by helping young people involved in low-level offending to get back on track, by holding serious and persistent young offenders to account, and by addressing the root causes of offending.

Some of the initiatives, announced as part of Fresh Start for Young Offenders, include:

• structured community youth programmes for low-level young offenders
• participation in either community or residential court-ordered drug and alcohol programmes, parenting and mentoring programmes
• Youth Court-supervised camps and greater Youth Court powers
• Supervision with Activity Orders with extra places in a range of programmes that incorporate elements of military-style training
• military-style activity camps for serious young offenders.

Reducing youth offending
We know that young people are more likely to stop offending if their families and communities help them to take responsibility for their own actions. The Youth 2 Men programme provides a community-based intervention for young offenders. Young people learn new skills so they can find themselves a job or go on to further training, with the understanding they are creating a better outcome for themselves.

In 2009/2010 we’ll work to reduce youth offending in the East Coast Region by:

• bringing young offenders to account for their actions
• making the first family group conference the best
• increasing the participation of victims in our family group conferences
• increasing the use of community-based interventions
• continuing the successful marae-based Youth Court in Gisborne.