Councils to collaborate on regional job scheme

The collaboration of the region’s three councils on an employment scheme that aims to ensure all young people aged 16-25 are engaged in employment, education, or training in their communities is being touted as assuring a brighter future for both the area’s youth and Wairarapa as a whole.

It was recently announced that Masterton District Council [MDC] is joining the Mayor’s Taskforce for Jobs [MTFJ] Community Employment Programme, which both Carterton District Council [CDC] and South Wairarapa District Council [SWDC] have been participating in since the inception of the nationwide partnership between Local Government New Zealand [LGNZ] and the Ministry of Social Development [MSD] four years ago.

The success of the scheme – which in the past year alone has placed 64 young people in Carterton and 36 in South Wairarapa in sustainable employment, while the ongoing nationwide programme recently celebrated its 5000^th placement – made the decision to come to the party an easy one, MDC Mayor Gary Caffell said at a small lunchtime function to mark the local expansion of the initiative.

“Having all three councils working together to provide greater employment opportunities in our region will be of huge benefit, both individually and collectively,” said Caffell, who couldn’t resist also remarking with a wink that, as “the capital of Wairarapa with the majority of the population, Masterton District has a lot to offer in terms of job creation”.

In response, Carterton Mayor Ron Mark noted that by including Masterton in the programme, the funding received by CDC and SWDC has effectively been cut, but agreed that the three councils “taking a united approach” will mean even greater results than the “enormous benefit” his district has already enjoyed due to its involvement.

“We know people in our region already travel regularly between districts for work,” SWDC Mayor Martin Connelly said.

“By teaming up, we’re giving the next generation more options and increasing the chances they’ll be satisfied at work. When this happens, people are more likely to lay down roots in the Wairarapa – and that’s good for all of us.”

From an employer’s perspective, there’s nothing but upside to being involved with the MTFJ, according to Tunnicliffe Builders’ Blair Tunnicliffe, who attended the function with Josh Taylor, one of two workers the company has employed through the programme.

“We were looking for new young staff, but having access to them and knowing who was right for the job was always hit and miss,” Tunnicliffe said.

Being involved in MTFJ “takes pretty much all the guesswork out of the process. It’s a brilliant service that gives employers confidence – there’s ongoing pastoral care to make sure the people who are placed are budgeting, they’re eating well, they’re doing all the things they need to as young adults. It also provides workplace learning while they’re still at school, so they’re exposed to a number of different jobs, which helps them work out what they’re passionate about.

“It’s not a one-off; it’s continued engagement. If a place opens up at our company, there’ll be candidates ready to go.”

In a wider community sense, Tunnicliffe said, “It’s all about how we can get people who are disengaged at school, or may not have opportunities without support, to get into jobs and have a go.”

As Mark observed, “It’s the best example of a village raising a kid that I can think of”, a theme elaborated on by his deputy mayor Dale Williams, who was instrumental in MTFJ being established in the first place.

“Right at the start, we made a long-term, sustainable, intergenerational commitment,” Williams said.

“Everybody’s invested in this for the right reasons because this is good for our economy and good for our people. There’s a lot of skin in this game.”

All three mayors were keen to make the point – while casting meaningful glances at newly-elected MP Mike Butterick – that MTFJ is an excellent example of “a bottom-up approach” to issues that councils are well placed to facilitate, with appropriate funding support from central government.

“Hope that’s a good sandwich, Mike,” one of the attendees commented, “because it sounds like it’s costing you a lot of money!”

While stopping short at offering a cheque he didn’t have the authority to sign, Butterick gave the initiative an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“In terms of devolution and localism, which is what it’s all about, it fits with National’s principles,” he said. “Local people understand their issues and their solutions, and they just need empowering.”

“And resourcing,” someone chimed in. “And resourcing.”

“It’s a tiny proportion of government spending that’s making massive inroads in communities,” Williams observed.

“If it’s delivering, there’s no reason for the government not to partner.”