2016 South Taranaki Youth to Work Awards Winners Announced

Over 200 people attended South Taranaki’s 2016 Youth to Work Awards held at the TSB Hub in Hawera last night.

The awards, a Mayors Task Force for Jobs project, are to celebrate young people who are achieving in their workplace or training environment, as well as the businesses, education and training providers who support them.

South Taranaki Mayor Ross Dunlop says this is the fourth year the event has been held and he was overwhelmed by the quality of the nominations. “I am very proud of this Mayors Task Force for Jobs initiative which is a really positive and inspiring event and showcases the opportunities for young people in our district.”

“The local businesses and educators who support our youth are to be congratulated as they are helping to shape our future workforce which is essential for the growth and sustainability of our economy,” he says.

This year the Youth Achiever Award was split into two age groups so the younger ones with less work experience had an opportunity to be recognized as in the previous years all of the winners were over 20 years old. The category was split 16-19 years and 20 to 24.

There were 38 nominations for the four award categories with all nominees featured in a video. The video showcases the wide range of opportunities and talent across the district and it will be available on the South Taranaki District Council (www.southtaranaki.com) and Venture Taranaki (www.taranaki.info) websites.

The judges acknowledged the high calibre of the nominees and the difficulty they had in selecting the winners who were:

Young Achiever Award 16 - 19:

Winner: Grayson Kira, Evergreen Plumbing Ltd

Second Place: Katherine Moore, Touchpoint Restaurant

Third Place: Patrick Back, Davey’s Patch

Young Achiever Award 20 - 24:

Winner: Christopher Udy, Andrew Purser Panelbeaters

Second Place: Chris Oliver, Power Farming

Third Place: Jamie Fevre, Sinclair Electrical

Employers Award:

Winner: Ace Equipment & Engineering

Second Place: Moller Johnson Motors

Third Place: Silver Fern Farms Hawera

Education and Training Provider Award:

Winner: Jim Baker, Taratahi

Second Place: Jason White, Witt

Third Place: Denise Holmes, Hawera High School Gateway Co-ordinator

The major event sponsor was WITT, with Feats, Parininihi Ki Waitotara, Silver Fern Farms and Fonterra the category sponsors. Outward Bound also donated two 21 day scholarships for the Young Achiever Category winners. Other sponsors were Venture Taranaki and Brendan Attrill Agriculture Ltd.

ENDS

© Scoop Media