Fully qualified electrician Sven Tetenburg loves fixing people's electrical problems. But Mr Tetenburg, 22, is unemployed and hopes the Government's new youth opportunities package can help him out. He finished his apprenticeship in Rotorua just over two months ago. A week later he found himself unemployed. "I was qualified for a week thenI lost my job," he said. "They said they couldn't afford a pay rise. I think it happened to a few others. "I had enough money to last me three weeks and I didn't think I needed a benefit. I thought I'd be able to get a job pretty quickly but that's not been the case." Mr Tetenburg left Western Heights High School at the end of Year 12. He completed a one-year course at Waiariki Institute of Technology before embarking on an electrician's apprenticeship, which he completed at a Rotorua electrical firm. He said he had a passion for electrical work and loved finding solutions to people's problems but he had found there was not enough work in the city. "I've tried every single outfit in this city. Every day I look on the internet and I've got my parents asking their friends if they need work. I've also got my mates keeping an eye out for anything that comes along. "I've never missed a day's work, I don't get sick. I follow all the rules and I'm interested in working. It's fun to me. "I like helping people, especially problem solving. I'm qualified so I can work on my own." He said he has fixed his grandmother's oven and put a new power point in his mum's kitchen, but what he would really like is a full-time job. As well as the usual bills, Mr Tetenburg also has a $500-a-week mortgage to pay on his Ngongotaha home, but his bank has put him on a 12-month mortgage holiday. "It will eventually work out, so people keep telling me. I pity people coming out of school - what are they going to have?" He said of the Youth Opportunity packages announced on Sunday there were two that could help him. They were the Polytechnic and Technology Institute Funding Boost, which would offer 700 extra study places in 2010 targeted at under 24-year-olds in need, and the Community Max where up to 3000 jobs of up to six months would be created. These offer minimum wages for 30 hours a week and a training payment paid to community groups.
