Former New Zealand First MP and retired soldier Ron Mark applauds the Government expansion of Limited Volunteer Service courses but warns there are dangers.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said on Friday an extra 1250 places has been added for this year and next year to LSV courses with February 1 the closing date for the first course at Burnham Camp.
Mr Mark said the courses are an invaluable path to a productive life for young people, especially those "in strife".
"I wholeheartedly support the Government on this one. It's brilliant."
The six-week schemes, operating since 1993, are available to people aged 18 to 24 and are run by Defence Force personnel.
Up to 625 young people each year have passed through the LVS ranks since the courses started.
The extra places are part of the Government's Youth Opportunities Package and are costing $19.1 million.
During this year, 14 courses will be run with six at Burnham, four at Trentham and four at Hobsonville, in Auckland.
Applications are through Work and Income.
Despite supporting the expansion, Mr Mark warns there is a major stumbling block the Social Development Ministry must guard against.
He said he conducted private research into the running of the courses in 1996 during his time as an MP in the New Zealand First-National coalition government.
"There were some WINZ offices that consistently made placements and other offices that never, ever did," he said.
"What I discovered was that there is pervasive political correctness in some of those offices and people with absolute anti-military views.
"I hope Paula Bennett and her staff pay very close attention to WINZ offices that under-subscribe to the courses and view those situations with deep suspicion."
Associate Defence Minister Heather Roy said the courses are a mix of youth life skills and military-style training - excluding weapons training - focused on teamwork, self-discipline, individual responsibility, pride and confidence.
"Results have shown that of all those who complete the courses, 45 percent gain employment and a further 30 percent enter trade-related training within three months of the course finishing," she said.
Mr Mark passed through five Wairarapa foster homes before reaching his teens and enlisting with the New Zealand Army at 16, he said, when he literally signed himself into military custody and the Regular Force Cadet School at Waiouru.
During his 15-year career as a Kiwi soldier he was selected for SAS training and captured a captaincy. He also served in the Middle East before taking a post as a Special Forces officer with the Sultanate of Oman, retiring as a major in 1990.
He said police and courts would be well served to use LVS as an alternative to other sanctions like fines or community service.
He said employers would also benefit from the courses as graduates make their way into the work force.
"You have a young person who is timely, motivated, self-disciplined and responsible. The army teaches core values like courage, commitment, camaraderie and integrity and that makes for a very attractive potential employee," he said.
"I congratulate the Government but would like to see the courses expanded further and younger. Some start going off the rails way younger than 18 and there needs to be a focus on that age range.
"I was in the army at 16 and things would have had an utterly different outcome if it wasn't for what that great experience did for me."
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