January 30, 2018
He Poutama Rangatahi investment in communities
Employment Minister Willie Jackson says there are groups keen to tackle unemployment in their regions but they haven’t had the resources to start.
That will change with his $13 million He Poutama Rangatahi employment scheme, starting in Northland, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Tairawhiti and Hawke's Bay.
He says while the previous Government identified a problem with 81,000 young people not in education, work or training, it failed to do anything about them.
"So we got an opportunity to invest in our communities, particularly up north and around the East Coast, and work with organisations who know these kids and to put plans and to put plans around these kids and also to work with employers – they call out 'we can't get these young people, we advertise for jobs' so do they need assistance, do they need some resourcing," Mr Jackson says.
He is also working with Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni to develop employment programmes for urban areas with high youth unemployment such as west and south Auckland.
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