Youth job programme ends in region

Manawatu youth will have to find other avenues of work after the Government axed community funding to keep them in employment.

Since the Community Max programme began in August 2009, 354 young people have been employed in the region.

There were 80 projects being carried out in the central region – Kapiti, Horowhenua, Wairarapa, Tararua and Manawatu.

The programme is being cut, leaving hundreds of young workers out in the cold. It was introduced by the Government as part of a nationwide Work and Income project, but was a time-limited programme.

It gave thousands of unskilled 16 to 24-year-olds with few or no qualifications a six-month work placement on a community or environmental project, paying the minimum hourly wage of $12.50 for 30 hours a week.

The programme cost the Government $40 million and was ended on Tuesday, except for areas with high needs, such as Northland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and the East Coast.

Cleaning up Kitchener Park, near Feilding, was one of the Community Max projects in Manawatu.

The park's curator, Gavin Scott, said the project gave young people a chance to learn life skills and a lot about the environment.

"It's teaching them discipline and it's good to get these kids out of bed and get them motivated for a bit more money than they would be getting on the benefit.

"I believe these kids should be working for the benefit if they can, anyway. It was a great project to give them the skills they need to find employment in the future," Mr Scott said.

- © Fairfax NZ News