|
Services & funding > Services for young people > Wellington > Choice 1 case study
Case study: "Choice" time for Porirua youth
Porirua young people have been given a new lease of life through a programme called Choice 1 run by local youth worker Alofi Tuaoi from the Yes to Youth Trust.
 Appropriately named, Choice 1 has been set up to provide options for
young people to make better choices in life. The programme is funded
under the Ministry of Youth Development Services for Young People fund.
The programme is aimed at young people with limited schooling and work
experience and aims to give them the necessary skills to move into the
workforce and/or onto further education. The participants get referred
from Work and Income and local high schools.
The first group of eight young people have completed a 20-week
programme. The programme has already proved successful with 2 of the
young people securing themselves full-time work as a result and 2
others now enrolled in tertiary education courses.
While on the programme, the young people received first aid training,
sat their learners licence, participated in a range of recreational
activities (including abseiling and kayaking), had on-job work
experience, discussed various health issues and learnt about their own
cultures.
Mr Tuaoi, who has been a youth worker in Porirua for over 10 years, says he is very pleased with how the first intake has gone.
“It has been awesome to see these young people grow during their time
here. Just because school wasn’t suited for them doesn’t mean that they
don’t have a lot to offer, they just needed the right learning
environment.
“The class was small; meaning I was able to focus on the individual
needs of each of them – something they didn’t get while they were at
school.
“The work experience part of the programme enabled them to get a feel
for the workforce and also meant they could discover whether certain
jobs were suitable for them.
“The recreational activities were also very valuable. By participating
in these activities, I have watched them mature and have seen a marked
improvement in their self esteem, team work and leadership – all very
important qualities to have once in the workforce.”
The next intake of young people will commence in early 2007 and Mr
Tuaoi expects similar success in this specialised learning environment.
The Ministry of Youth Development funds Services for Young People that
aim to increase the confidence of young people, help them set goals for
the future, increase their personal and relationship skills, improve
health and wellbeing and reduce offending and other risks that are
barriers to movement into further education, training and employment.
Top of page
|