Oho Mauri Solutions Charitable Trust secures $500,000 to help rangatahi enter workplace

The first cohort of boys at Huntly College who graduated last week from the Oho Mauri 10-week Transitions Programme. Photo / Supplied

Oho Mauri Solutions Charitable Trust has secured $500,000 from the Ministry of Social Development to continue giving rangatahi the tools, skills and experience to enter the workplace that is most meaningful for them.

The successful funding application relates to the newly developed and trialled Oho Mauri 10-week Transitions Programme.

Directors and co-creators Leah Crawford and Lizana Tuake say it is fantastic news, especially on the back of such a successful graduation of the first cohort of 11 boys at Huntly College last week.

"We can't wait to see more rangatahi gain the skills and confidence to enter employment or further education and training and achieve their goals," says Ms Crawford.

The Ministry of Social Development says it is proud to partner with Oho Mauri, Ministry of Education and employers such as Schick Civil Construction and others.

The programme aims to make a difference to the lives of 100 rangatahi. At the completion of the programme, rangatahi will have the skills to make a significant contribution to their communities.

"Hopefully other rangatahi will follow in the footsteps of this cohort," says regional labour market manager Tuahu Watene.

"Aotearoa has one of the worst rates of student retention of any developed country, ultimately, we want to see our rangatahi lead a fulfilling, financially-secure and independent life and feel proud about their cultural identity," says Ms Tuake.

"We know fewer rangatahi in our communities are leaving kura / school with the necessary skills and experience to confidently enter the employment market and transition comfortably into further education and training," she says.

This programme was co-designed with industry partners Safety 'n Action, Industry Training Solutions, Independent Verification Services and Ontrack NZ.

"We have such incredible results across all modules and we had an average of 95 per cent pass rate, and all 11 boys have been placed in meaningful work placements in areas of their personal interests," says Ms Crawford.

It has partnered with All Trades Labour Hire Limited based in Napier, Schick Civil Construction Hamilton and Te Whāngai Trust Miranda for work placements.

The second wave has started and there are 31 rangatahi on the current Oho Mauri 10-week Transitions Programme. These students are from Huntly College and Ngaruawahia High School and are in week 4 of 10.

The programme includes all six strands of the existing 10-day work ready programme plus other wellbeing and training components.

The six strands are: a) Health and Safety, Hazard ID and Drug and Alcohol Awareness, b) Driver Licensing, c) Cultural Self-Identity, d) Strength Character Building, e) Work Readiness (Mock Interviews / CV / cover letter, etc) and Soft Skills, and f) Financial Awareness (Budget Management).