YSAR: Search for young emergency responders in Thames-Coromandel

YSAR aims to help combat an ageing workforce in the Search and Rescue and Emergency Management sectors. Photo / Supplied

A search and rescue training programme for youth is being introduced to Thames-Coromandel, as part of a nationwide drive to grow the number of future emergency responders.

Youth Search and Rescue (YSAR) offers a three-year programme to teens aged 14-18 years and aims to help combat an ageing workforce in the Search and Rescue and Emergency Management sectors.

Launched 14 years ago, until now the programme has only been available in Tauranga and Auckland. YSAR's expansion will see new branches open in Thames-Coromandel, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch.

"At YSAR we are focused on building a robust and diverse future workforce in Search and Rescue and Emergency Management. There are some incredibly dedicated and talented people doing great things in these sectors and YSAR is a way of ensuring that their skills and knowledge are not lost," said YSAR general manager Steve Campbell.

YSAR offers a three-year programme to teens aged 14-18 years. Photo / Supplied

"Research released in 2010 suggested that 67 per cent of all search and rescue volunteers were male and over the age of 40. It was clear that the emergency response sectors were entering a period where there was an increase in the number of volunteers unsuitable for field deployment and that this would continue to a point of crisis from 2020 and beyond unless this was addressed at a strategic level."

The YSAR programme involves 26 weekly classroom-based training sessions and eight outdoor weekend exercises a year, in which students learn a range of skills, from bushcraft and river crossings to first aid and navigation.

The programme involves eight outdoor weekend exercises a year. Photo / Supplied

In the second year, students complete modules through partner organisations such as LandSAR, Coastguard and AREC, and during their third and final year, they gain competencies in managing a full-scale emergency response.

Since its inception, hundreds of students have completed the YSAR programme, inspiring many of them to seek careers and volunteer work with the police, ambulance service, fire service, defence force, search and rescue and coastguard.

YSAR students learn to use a drone. Photo / Supplied

"YSAR has been very successful to date and we are excited that we now have the resources to be able to offer the programme in other regions, such as the Thames-Coromandel," said Steve.

"We're aiming to create multi-skilled young people who will be invaluable to their community. It's highly likely some of our students will go on to save lives, but they're also going to be great human beings."

Applications for YSAR's 2023 intake are now open. See www.ysar.org.nz.