Dress to impress runs short

New Whangarei service Dress To Impress is six weeks old and heading to be a victim of its own success.

The Work and Income-funded service outfits male job-seekers with donated clothing and personal products in preparation for interviews - but demand has been so strong it is running out of supplies.

Dress To Impress was set up because of the number of Northland men looking for work but without the resources to fit themselves out properly.

The service is a pilot joint venture between funder Work and Income, and provider, the Northland branch of the nationwide matching service for women, Dress For Success.

Dress For Success has been in Whangarei for the past 10 years. Both it and the new service rely on donated clothing, financial and in-kind donations from a range of sources and are supported by teams of volunteers.

The latest unemployment figures from Statistics New Zealand show why staff at the all-about-men Dress To Impress are being run off their feet.

Figures for the quarter ending December 31, 2011, showed that 72.6 per cent of the 3881 Northland working-age people receiving unemployment benefits were male, compared to 27.4 per cent female. Working age is usually defined as between 18 and 64, and Northland's working-age total population was around 122,500 at the end of last year.

The percentages for age-groups on unemployment benefits were 18-24 years, 25.2 per cent (977); 25-39 years, 29.3 per cent (1138); 40-54 years, 32.6 per cent (1264); 55-64 years, 12.9 per cent (502).

The Dress To Impress case-load in its first six weeks indicates that unemployment figures may be higher this year.

Frankie Schilke, Dress For Success programmes co-ordinator and administrator, said the service for men was now seeing between 15 and 20 clients a week, issuing trousers, suits, shirts, belts, socks, underwear and shoes according to need.

Demand was building while at the same time donations had suddenly slowed, she said.

"It could be something to do with the change of season - we are not quite sure," she said. Stocks were very low with all sizes needed, and there was a desperate need for socks, underwear, after-shave, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes and mouthwash.

"Needs are very, very basic for some of our clients," said Ms Schilke. She also offers brochures on self-esteem issues and interview behaviours, and later in the year hopes to start a "debrief" group for men to discuss reasons they may have missed out on jobs, and strategies for improving interview performance.

Donations for both services may be dropped off at the Dress For Success base at 5 Central Ave, opposite Palmers Garden Centre, or at Regent Drycleaners or Whangarei Drycleaners.