Local Focus: The training programme helping at-risk youth find 'meaningful employment'

It's a pre-employment training programme getting lives back on track and into careers.

Imagine Believe Achieve (IBA) helps NEET kids – those not in education, employment or training.

"A lot of these kids would just fall through the cracks and have no hope of getting into meaningful employment," Bay of Plenty Youth Development Trust chairman Craig Nees said.

Over 11 weeks, a class of 20 takes part in a personalised IBA course aimed at employability, which also focuses on health and wellbeing.

Operations manager Mark Inman said the programme was designed around their well-being "to re-engage them in the workforce" and help get them back on their feet.

"A lot of kids say they want to be a builder, but what type of builder do they want to be?

Recent graduates of the IBA programme. Photo / Local Focus

"Do they want to be a carpenter, do concrete flooring, work in residential or industrial?

"It gives them opportunities to explore and see first-hand."

The programme runs at 90 per cent attendance with a 70 per cent success rate in the workforce.

"Our results are speaking for themselves," he said.

For recent graduate Rhiannon Stringfellow, who is interested in becoming an early childhood teacher, the IBA team was instrumental in opening new doors.

"I'm doing Employ NZ after this, which IBA has got me into, and they've also got my first-aid course all done and I passed that, so they gave me that opportunity as well," she said.

"We went around to a couple of daycares so I could get the feel of it, which I liked a lot and enjoyed."

Inman said there was a misconception that at-risk youth were just from troubled backgrounds.

"We've got kids that come from the gang backgrounds; there's the underprivileged in the sense of living in social housing.

"We've got kids coming from backgrounds with solo mums, solo dads.

"We've got kids that come from wealthy families as well, who are just a little bit lost.

"At-risk isn't always about a kid that's in trouble all the time.

"It's a kid that may just have no direction in life - they get to 21, 22 in life and are still unsure of a pathway to take."

More than 100 employers work with the programme's mentors.

Tauranga resident Brandon Mikaere-Toto graduated from the IBA programme three months ago with a job at Mainfreight.

"Before I joined these programmes I was smoking drugs, drinking liquor, trying to join a gang like a lot of young, dumb kids do," he said.

"Now I've got more resilience, more perseverance, knowing more about life, going back to Te Ao Māori, having a sense of that part of myself. Much more independent."

The values and skills IBA teach often puts its youth in pole position with prospective employers.

"If anything, it's probably more of an advantage because a lot of the vetting has been done," Mainfreight Rotorua manager Gregg Conning said.

"Some applications you'll get up to 30 or 40 people putting their hand up for a job - with these guys you can tell they've done a bit of work, they've done extra.

"When you sit down and have the interview, they're quite confident and know what they're aiming for."

Inman said the IBA programme doesn't just stop when the term ends.

"We follow the kids, not only for the 11 weeks but for the nine months afterwards," he said.

"Work and schools are about consequences. We're about outcomes and well-being.

"If they have a few speed bumps along the way, it's not the end of the world, and it shows you can recover from those bumps by showing up and putting in a little more effort."

End-of-term means graduation, and for many, it's also a realisation of how far they've come.

Cody Ross from Mount Maunganui said he was without direction.

"I was in a really hard space, lacking motivation, didn't have much I wanted to do with myself."

Graduates receive a professional CV, cover letter, and references to help them on their future journeys.

Pyes Pā resident Manatoa Lauvao said the IBA programme changed his life.

"I decided to be the one to break the chain and do something good with my life instead of bad things."

Lauvao said he saw the IBA mentors as family.

"Seeing them every day on the course, it lightens up my day.

"What the future holds for me is challenges, and I'm always ready for that challenge thanks to IBA."

IBA mentor Steen Locke said the job wasn't easy and the mentors needed to be ready for anything.

"[The youths] might come in with a different attitude on a day-to-day basis, and we don't know what's going on in the background.

"So, we have to be a bit gentle on how we are when they're acting different, but also keep those boundaries in place."

Joining the programme begins with a referral that can come from police, family, friends, schools or Oranga Tamariki.

IBA cultural advisor Paora Howe said that every student ultimately wanted a job.

"Very few of them actually understand what's needed to be a good employee.

"What we try and ascertain is whether they are capable of changing and developing the soft skills that are needed to be not just employable, but employable in a sustainable way."