$50m job scheme a ‘gimmick’
''If we can get them into a job and keep them there over the next 12 months, we can change the trajectory of their lives." Prime Minister Bill English
The Government is targeting four regions with the worst rates of long-term youth unemployment in a $50 million pre-election initiative to get young people into work and training.
Prime Minister Bill English said yesterday that $42m would be spent over four years in the four regions – Northland, Eastern Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay and the East Coast – which have the highest proportion of young people at risk of long-term unemployment.
Announcing the initiative at a Hawke’s Bay apple packhouse, English said a further $8m would be spend on initiatives aimed at getting young Maori into work.
He said the youth employment pathways programme would ‘‘work intensively’’ with the 5280 most at-risk unemployed young people in the four regions – those who had been on a benefit for more than six months.
‘‘They are at the greatest risk of not developing good work habits over their lifetime.
‘‘If we can get them into a job and keep them there over the next 12 months, we can change the trajectory of their lives,’’ English said.
Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges said the money would be spent on developing ‘‘locally driven solutions’’ aimed at preparing young people for vacancies available in their regions.
It would also ‘‘actively support youth to address recreational drug use’’.
Richard Hill, chief orchard operating officer for Mr Apple, the producer whose packhouse was used to launch the initiative, said its staffing requirements had grown significantly as the company had expanded over recent years.
The company had created its own apprenticeship scheme to help meet demand for trained staff and welcomed the Government spending more on training and employment initiatives, he said.
‘‘We put a huge effort into attracting, training and retaining young people into our business,’’ Hill said.
Labour Party leader Andrew Little dismissed the initiative as a ‘‘half-hearted election gimmick’’ and said the Government had ignored the youth unemployment issue until now.
‘‘It beggars belief this scheme has been cobbled together 10 weeks from the election when for more than a year Bill English has preferred to write off young unemployed people as pretty damn hopeless and too drugged and lazy,’’ Little said.