We're doubling the number of rangatahi we help into work every year

We've just locked in a new three-year contract with the Ministry of Social Development, and it means twice as many of our rangatahi will get the chance to build a real future, every single year.

Our He Poutama Rangatahi programme has been running since 2020, helping 15- to 24-year-olds who face the biggest barriers to getting a job.

These are kids are early school leavers with no qualifications; some of them are caught up in the justice system or carry the weight of generations on the benefit.

But the harsh reality is that all of these kids have given up on mainstream education.

We started with 40 rangatahi over two years. That grew to 50 over the next two and a half years, and we peaked at 57.

Now MSD has backed us to take 40 rangatahi a year, every year, for the next three years. That's 120 young people we get to walk alongside.

"Every time we've gone back to MSD, they've asked us to do more, with more kids," says TJ Fermanis, our Programmes Manager. "That doesn't happen unless the work is landing."

The programme isn't about anything flashy. It's CVs, learner licences, first aid, and the soft skills a lot of these kids never got the chance to build, like knowing how to look someone in the eye and hold a conversation.

We do it through real experiences: running our food truck, doing hāngī, learning the basics of pricing and selling so they can see, in cash in their hands, what hard work earns them.

One of our current rangatahi left school at 14 after being bullied. He hadn't been back to school since.

Since joining us, he's landed a job interview and is working hard to give up weed for good. Another, who left school at 16 without finishing, is now a year off qualifying as a nurse. We're proud of every one of them.

"We've been in Cannons Creek since 2014, so these kids know us before they even walk in the door," TJ says. "That trust is what gets them here, and what keeps them here when things get hard at home."

This contract is a vote of confidence in what whānau-led, community-based support can do. We can't wait to keep growing it.

If you know a rangatahi who could use a hand getting job-ready, get in touch with our team.