News Release

7 February 2009

Keeping Kids At School
Solution To Jobs Shortage

Mountaineer and co-founder of the Foundation for Youth Development, Graeme Dingle, is calling for greater focus on keeping young people in school for longer to help address the current jobs shortage.

Dingle who is a driving force behind the Foundation for Youth Development which includes programmes such as Kiwi Can, Stars, Project K and youth offender programmes said keeping young people motivated and at school could bring significant and lasting economic benefits to the country.

“First and foremost, programmes that encourage youth to stay at school or go on to tertiary education will ensure that there are fewer people looking for jobs. Furthermore, having youth studying for longer will help to drive down unemployment levels and generally increase the country’s skills base which in turn adds more value to the economy.

“There are also, of course, additional benefits associated with youth development programmes including the creation of more positive family environments, reduced offending and costs savings in the justice, health and welfare areas.”

Dingle said Foundation for Youth Development programmes were proven to keep children at school for longer.

“Our sequential programmes have been purposely developed to motivate and carry youth across all phases of school from primary through to secondary.
“Kiwi Can is aimed at young children instilling life skills and values. STARS is primarily focussed on helping year nine students to successfully make the transition to secondary school via peer mentoring. Project K works to enable 14 and 15 years olds to reach their full potential by building their confidence, promoting good health and education, and teaching life skills.”

He said the Foundation for Youth Development has approximately 800 people around the country contracted to deliver programmes to more than 16,000 young people. The majority of those workers are volunteers serving as mentors but more than 200 are paid full or part-time.

“In particular, most of the leaders of the Kiwi Can programme are Maori and in their first jobs, delivering programmes to Maori children in low decile communities.”

He said the majority of these leaders go on to further training such as university or teachers college, as a result of their experiences at the Foundation for Youth Development.

“Increased Government funding could create further full and part-time jobs by enabling the Foundation for Youth Development to increase the number of its programmes.

“Most of these new jobs would be targeted at Maori in both Kiwi Can and our youth offender programmes.”

ENDS

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