Participants in last year's YES programme assess the condition of 'casualties' in a crashed car, under the guidance of trainers from NZ Red Cross and St John. Photo/ Supplied
Seventeen young people from across Whangārei district are about to learn hands-on emergency services skills and challenge themselves through the Youth in Emergency Services (YES) programme.
The five-week programme, for 16- to 19-year-olds, begins on May 4 with training in firefighting and use of rescue tools by Fire and Emergency
New Zealand.
The remainder of the programme will see participants learning triage, basic first aid and disaster ground-based rescue from St John and NZ Red Cross, followed by water rescue from Surf Life Saving and search, navigation and land rescue from NZ Police.
Shona Morgan, spokeswoman for Northland's YES co-ordinating work group, said the highlight of the programme is a combined exercise based around a mock disaster, requiring the young people to draw on all of their new-found skills, judgement and teamwork.
At the conclusion of the programme, participants attend a graduation ceremony with their families and are offered the opportunity to volunteer with the emergency service of their choice.
