Darroch Ball MP

Spokesperson for Social Development
30 MARCH 2016

Army Job Training Gives at Risk Youth a Chance

New Zealand First wants youth as young as 15 to go into the army for job training.

“Often kids are disillusioned and disengaged with school and fall into a cycle of welfare dependency, ending up on the scrapheap – but they may fly if given a chance to learn a trade in the army,” saysNew Zealand First Social Development Spokesperson Darroch Ball.

“There are over 70,000 young people aged between 15 and 24 who are at a loose end and drifting.

“New Zealand First would place them in the army, where they would be schooled in literacy and numeracy and learn a trade.

“The programme would be run by the NZ Army and the Ministry of Social Development. The participants would receive an allowance and be paid, but the pay would be put aside as savings till they complete the three-year programme.

“New Zealand First has put forward the Youth Employment, Training and Education Bill that would give at risk youth paid employment, education and training to prevent them from a lifetime of welfare dependency.

“We need to be proactive and engage these young people before they fall off the rails not wait until they become another statistic,” says Mr Ball.

ENDS

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