Young unemployed to get dole to work

WELLINGTON: Employers who give apprenticeships or traineeships to young unemployed people will be paid the equivalent of the dole for a year.

The new scheme, launched yesterday by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, will also pay the employers $3000$6000 each for pastoral care of the young people.

It will start with 150 young people aged 18 to 24 who have been on a benefit for at least six months, and will be funded for up to 4000 people with the same criteria from the middle of next year.

Employers will be required to top up the young people’s wages to the minimum wage and help them to achieve a level 4 qualification such as an apprenticeship.

The ‘‘Mana in Mahi a Strength in Work’’ scheme will cost $12 million$24 million for the pastoral care subsidies.

The cost of the dole is not counted on the basis that taxpayers would have had to pay that anyway if the trainees had remained unemployed.

The full cost, including the dole, was put at $60 million when former Labour leader Andrew Little announced it in 2016.

‘‘Mana in Mahi is all about supporting our young people,’’ Ms Ardern said.

‘‘We’ll help them earn an apprenticeship or other qualification so they can get on the pathway to lifelong work.

‘‘It’s a winwin. They get off the benefit and enjoy the dignity of work while encouraging employers to take on apprentices they might otherwise not have trained,’’ she said.

The programme will be introduced in phases, the first involving two employer groups. Initially about 40 places will be ready to go in October with 150 places expected to be filled next year. — NZME