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The manager of Auckland Council’s Southern Initiative says a new cadetship programme will offer a better pathway to employment for young Maori.
The initiative, which is a 30-year programme to develop stable homes and employment opportunities for children and families in south Auckland, is teaming up with Manukau Institute of Technology to provide work opportunities for students.
John McInteer says about 30 percent of young Maori in the region are unemployed, so it’s critical rangatahi are not just in some sort of study but that the study is effective.
He says the cadetships will put trainees into south Auckland businesses for one day a week as they come towards the end of their training.
"They're at a stage where they're valuable to an employer because they have a level of training and skill and an employer can put time and effort into moulding and shaping. When they finish their course and a job is available they are the first cab off the rank in that an employer can make an easy assessment," Mr McInteer says.
The cadetship programme was trialled at Auckland airport at the end of last year, and more than three quarters landed jobs there or elsewhere, with the balance returning to MIT for further study.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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