Matamata-Piako is trying to slash youth unemployment by taking high school students out of class and into work.
In an initiative led by Matamata-Piako mayor Hugh Vercoe, 10 Te Aroha College students will be shared out among some of the district's main employers including Fonterra, Inghams, RD1, Te Aroha Community
Hospital, Wallace Corporation, Kaimai Valley Services and Lowe Corporation to get a taste of the real world.
The students will go to the workplace one day a week for about a year - or until they get a job.
Mr Vercoe, who is a member of the Mayors Taskforce set up to make sure all young people aged under 24 were either employed or studying, said the programme would give direction to 15-year-olds who were not sure what they wanted to do.
He said the businesses were keen to recruit local staff and had committed to showing students around, explaining the opportunities available and the qualifications required.
