17 June 2004

30 Young People To Gain Work Experience At Manukau City Council

The Manukau Youth Employment Cadet Scheme is about to kick off for a second year, with 30 unemployed young people being taken on by Manukau City Council to gain work experience.

The aim is to place all cadets into full-time employment either within Council, its contractors or other organisations. The cadets start work on July 19 and have recently been preparing for their cadetship on a pre-employment programme run by Best Training. They are all long term unemployed and under 25. Most have no or few formal qualifications.

The scheme is a partnership between the Council, Tertiary Education Commission and Work and Income. It targets the long term unemployed and the trial last year was extremely successful. Most of the participants performed beyond expectations and went on to find full time positions due to their new-found confidence and skills. Many have been placed into permanent jobs with the Council.

The initiative has been adopted nationwide. It is being supported by the government and many councils are also now running similar schemes.

The scheme is the result of a new, closer working relationship between the government, social agencies and councils as part of the “all of government” approach to problem-solving.

There will be a financial benefit to Manukau of approximately $1.8 million because unemployment comes at a high cost. It is estimated that each person out of work for a year costs $58,000 in lost productivity, health effects and other social costs.

City Manager Colin Dale says, “I see this project as another form of community-building which the council has been involved in for many years.

“I welcome the chance to help these young people get a break into the job market and I was delighted at the quality of the cadets we took on last year. They continue to be excellent employees.”

ENDS

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