Help on offer to get behind wheel

A driver's licence is vital in rural communities

Not having a driver's licence is one of the main barriers to young people throughout Tararua finding employment, but youth workers are making inroads by helping them to get behind the wheel.

Employers involved with the Tararua Vocational Pathways scheme, which aims to have everyone up to the age of 25 in a job, have said young people need a full licence, but for many in our community the process cost is too high. But Jeanne O'Brien, manager of Tararua Community Youth Services and her team are taking that journey with our young people.

"We may not be budgeted to help them through the driver's licence system, but it's about keeping it real. This is what our kids need," she said.

"A driver's licence is vital in our rural communities because we've got no public transport."

But, it's not just young people walking through the doors of the Community Youth Services in Dannevirke's Allardice St wanting their licence, adults are also turning up needing help.

However, it's not a cheap helping hand, with Tararua Community Youth Services spending $3600 last year to put 46 young people through their learner's licence and costs are running high this year.

And, while the cost of obtaining a full driver's licence adds up, many young people don't even have the necessary paperwork to begin the process.

"A lot of our young people don't have the money, so we either pay for it in full, if we can, or ask our families to koha and if they're struggling they can pay it back at $2 or $5 a time," youth worker Stevie Rangi said.

If the young person doesn't have a birth certificate which has been issued after January 1998, they need verification from a bank account or the Inland Revenue Department, to prove who they are, before they can get their certificate.

"Most kids don't have these and need some form of photo identification, so we do that for them and we often pay for their birth certificate too," Jeanne said.

"Once all these hurdles have been overcome we then organise a youth worker to take up to six kids at a time through to the ihow caravan in Palmerston North."

The ihow caravan programme has a professional team of tutors who specialise in training people to pass their learner's driver's licence.

"Once back, if they don't have a car to drive, we work with the Academy of Driving."