Hon Carmel Sepuloni
Minister for Social Development

Hon Ron Mark
Minister of Defence

17 May 2018

Youth employment training places double

Investing in the future of our young people is a core commitment of the Coalition Government and Budget 2018 makes a substantial investment in the training and employment of rangatahi, say Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni and Defence Minister Ron Mark.

“This Government has a plan to help our rangatahi gain employment. It includes

doubling the number of places in the Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) Programme

from 800 to 1,600. We are doing this with an additional $26.8 million operating funding over four years,” says Carmel Sepuloni.

“The number of places in the programme will grow by 800 over the next two years.

“We will be working closely with these young people to ensure that the programme is supported by the right wraparound services and post-programme support to ensure they are able to move into work or upskill,” says Carmel Sepuloni.

“The LSV programme is a six-week motivational course delivered by the New Zealand Defence Force with funding and support from the Ministry of Social Development and the New Zealand Police,” says Ron Mark.

“It aims to improve the discipline, confidence and work-readiness of unemployed young people aged 18 to 25.

“The Defence Force will receive an additional $1.0 million capital funding in 2018/19 for set-up costs at Whenuapai and Trentham.

“The Defence Force is currently building a youth development facility at Whenuapai in Auckland, and this funding will cover increasing the size of the facility to deal with the expanded LSV programme.

“Defence Force personnel are looking forward to working with more young people to build their confidence and enhance their career prospects,” says Ron Mark.

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