Media Statement for immediate release

Solutions for unemployed young people - gap year

People who work with youth say they have been working on a range of ideas to address rising unemployment among young people - including the idea of a gap year.

New Zealand Aotearoa Adolescent Health and Development (NZAAHD) executive officer Sarah Helm said youth unemployment was ordinarily four times the rate of overall unemployment.

³That makes young people very vulnerable right now, and will mean a number of young people leaving the education system will find it hard to enter the workforce.²

NZAAHD had asked its members to come up with a range of innovative ideas for the National-led Government to consider.

³We came to the conclusion that leaving young people on a very low unemployment benefit was less than ideal, particularly when in the long-term New Zealand still needs a skilled workforce to support its ageing population.²

Additionally the non-profit sector is in a time of immense pressure, with increased demand and less funding available, she said.

³So getting young people into the voluntary sector is a brilliant way of giving young people valuable, meaningful work experience and a skill-development opportunity, while helping meet the needs of a pressured sector,² she said.

One way of achieving this is to set up a gap year scheme, where young people spend a year working in an agency before going on to other education or work.

³Incentives would need to be given to the young people however, and support given to the agencies taking them. Like with all volunteers they need recognition, support, and some reward,² Ms Helm said.

Similar schemes were operating in other countries, such as the United States, where an ŒAmericorp¹ programme provided a gap year. It built an appreciation of on-going giving and volunteering beyond the actual year of service.

NZAAHD had also recommended a range of other interventions, including: -temporarily subsidised jobs to encourage employers to take young people on -increased support for the existing ŒYouth Transitions¹ service, which helps young people into work or back into school/training -more training, apprenticeship and education places

³None of these interventions are a fix-all. We have structural unemployment. Young people are at the bottom of the labour market, so they will be impacted on more severely.² ³We support the Government in making decisive targeted interventions to help young people,² Ms Helm said.

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