Across Tāmaki Makaurau, the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) is rising again after years of progress. Last year this number increased to 33,400 young people in Auckland and almost 90,000 nationally. Around one in seven Aucklanders aged 15–24 are now disconnected from both work and learning, the recent data shows youth disengagement is trending upward, not down.
The impact is uneven and deeply unfair. In South Auckland, youth NEET rates sit at around 20 percent or higher in several local board areas. That’s roughly one in five young people locked out of opportunity. In West Auckland, rates hover closer to 15 percent, still above the regional average and worsening as training pathways disappear. Even on the North Shore, disengagement is rising as entry-level jobs dry up while tertiary and transport costs climb.
Auckland’s young people are being left behind and under this Government, the problem is getting worse, not better. More NEET’s, less apprentices, and less people engaged in foundation learning.
These numbers aren’t accidental. They reflect political choices under Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
This Government has cut back active labour market programmes, pulled funding from vocational education, cut trades training and removed support that helped young people move from school into work or training. Apprenticeships have stalled. Polytechnics and community providers are stretched. Employers are offered fewer incentives to take on young workers – especially those without experience.
At the same time, young people are told to be “resilient” while rents rise, public transport costs more, and job opportunities shrink. That isn’t tough love. It’s abdication of responsibility.
The cost of this failure is already visible: growing youth unemployment, worsening mental health, and employers crying out for skills that are no longer being developed. Auckland’s future workforce is being quietly hollowed out.
Youth disengagement is not inevitable. It is a policy outcome. And right now, this Government’s priorities are actively making it worse.
Auckland’s young people deserve pathways, not excuses, and leadership that invests in their future, not cuts it away
Shanan Halbert- Labour Spokesperson for Tertiary Education
