New employment initiative to benefit Auckland south youth
Media release
8 November 2012
New
employment initiative to benefit Auckland south youth
School leavers in Auckland south are the latest group set to benefit from an Auckland Council youth employment and up-skilling initiative, Youth Connections.
Launched last night at an event attended by Sir Stephen Tindall, Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse, local boards and businesses, Youth Connections aims to improve the employment prospects of local youth in the Otara-Papatoetoe and Mangere-Otahuhu local board areas by providing them with skills and business connections to begin their careers.
Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse says she is excited to see the Youth Connections programme come to Auckland south and is confident it will not only make a big impact on the youth who live there, but also the local business community.
Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board Chair John McCracken comments: “Youth Connections is a great opportunity for businesses to invest in their future workforce to build strong, sustainable businesses. It’s a win-win situation which will see our local youth upskilled and transitioned into work.”
Chair of the Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board, Peter Skelton, adds: “Youth Connections sees our local communities flourish through supporting young people into the workforce with skills local employers have said they need.”
Youth Connections currently operates in the Puketapapa local board area where the first programme has successfully operated; all seven of the participants who completed the programme won jobs as a direct result of their participation in the programme. It also recently launched in the Hibiscus and Bays local board area.
Youth Connections will operate in two Auckland south local board areas, Otara-Papatoetoe and Mangere-Otahuhu, with funding from the Tindall Foundation and Auckland Airport Community Trust respectively.
Other boards funded and developing their Youth Connections programmes are Maungakiekie-Tamaki, Whau, Henderson and Massey.
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