Aoraki Polytechnic will provide about 50 students under 18 with fee-free courses next year.

Chief executive Kay Nelson said the polytech had secured increased youth guarantee funding from $614,000 to $647,000 for 2013.

"This could be either 47 trade places or 55 non-trade places. We usually use youth guarantee for trade-based as it is skills for work, however, we may utilise some in non-trade programmes.

"Youth guarantee is proving very popular in the bigger cities and we are pleased to have at least a small increase on 2012. We have received a pleasing number of expressions of interest for 2013 already. Youth guarantee programmes have no fee charged to the student."

The youth guarantee courses had strict criteria for the programmes.

They must be level 1 to 3 and must be at least 97 credits.

Students must be under 18 years of age when they enrol.

The purpose of the youth guarantee initiative was to create new work, education and training opportunities for young people, Ms Nelson said.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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