Hon Anne Tolley

Minister for Social Development

2 August 2017

1,200 Kiwis supported off benefits & into work

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says strong uptake of the $3K to Work grant has seen over 1,200 New Zealander’s move off benefits and into stable employment.

“The $3,000 grant supports people to relocate to take up employment. There has been good uptake of the grant over the last year,” says Mrs Tolley.

“In the year to 30 June 2017, $3K to Work delivered 1,203 grants at a total of $3.6 million. Over 90 per cent of the grant recipients, mostly single men aged 20-29, remained in employment and off benefits for longer than 91 days.

“Around 25 per cent were employed in the construction sector, and over 180 people took up roles in farming, forestry and fisheries.

“Canterbury and Auckland had the highest uptake of relocations, with Northland, Bay of Plenty and Nelson also receiving a large share of the grants.

“$3K to Work is helping both jobseekers and those at risk of long term benefit dependence into work, and building skills and experience in valuable and growing industries. This supports New Zealand’s continued economic growth.”

The $3K to Work initiative was merged with the successful $3K to Christchurch programme in July 2016 which made a total of $3 million of grants available.

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