Community organisations come together to support Taranaki rangatahi into work

Three Taranaki community organisations have teamed up to support rangatahi. Photo/ Supplied

Three Taranaki organisations have formed a collaborative for guiding young people into meaningful careers.

This whānau-first collaboration includes initiatives such as sharing pastoral care personnel, providing driver licensing solutions, and building cloud-based software that all organisations can utilise.

Why Ora, Learner Me and Tupu ā nuku are the founding members of this collaboration, which puts the needs of rangatahi first to tailor the right support and training for each individual.

Why Ora pou whakahaere (chief executive) Tanya Anaha says working together gives the ability to extend reach as well as develop better solutions.

"Each organisation has specific expertise and knowledge, we lever off this expertise to ensure we meet the needs of those rangatahi not currently engaged in employment, education or training.

"We want to change the narrative of 'leaving school early or not going to tertiary means your choices to a career are limited'. We work together and with our networks to create pathways for rangatahi to obtain not just employment, but a meaningful career."

Learner Me chief executive Simon Singh says there are similarities in the challenges their rangatahi face.

"For example, in Taranaki, which has limited public transport, we have long wait times for driver licensing, so we are looking to fast-track this for those rangatahi who need it. Similarly, we are collaborating on wellness and pastoral care support — making sure it is comprehensive and consistent."

Tupu ā nuku programme manager Ānaru White says they are three organisations with similar values on the aspirations of whanāu and rangatahi.

"It made sense to come together and pool resources to collaborate and maximise the training opportunities for our rangatahi, getting them into sustainable employment. It's not about a quick fix; it's about long-term career pathways, giving rangatahi the skills and supporting them into the right work for them."

He says Why Ora covers health and education, Learner Me for IT, and Tupu ā nuku takes in conservation.

"It could be that we have a rangatahi come into our conservation programme, but they show an interest in the health or education sector or tech; through this collaboration we can better facilitate this."

Tanya says young people don't necessarily come to them because they have an interest in health or education, but because they already know and trust them.

"From this point of trust and utilising a broader network of trusted providers, all three organisations can open more doors for young people better enabling them to find their niche in a sustainable career".