Balance Whanganui course helping young people be work ready

Rana Aston says people can control their future if they "choose to take it on". Photo / Supplied

Balance Whanganui will be running a month-long course to help benefit recipients between the ages of 18 and 25 get ready for work.

Balance Whanganui's Rana Aston said the course was aimed at anyone who received assistance from the Ministry of Social Development.

"Part of it is helping get people into work, but it's more about building them up and making them feel worthy of work," Aston said.

"Putting it into another perspective for people is asking things like 'how do you want to contribute to society? and 'how do you want to contribute to your family and community?'

"There's a stigma around unemployment where people think of others as 'dole bludgers' or that they're lazy and they don't want to get jobs, but there's actually a lot of barriers around people gaining employment.

"If someone has a criminal record, or mental health issues, or an addiction, it makes getting into work that much harder."

The course started off by participants talking about who they were and where they were from, Aston said.

"We talk about our cultures, what our families are like and what we grew up doing. It's kind of building up a picture of who we are.

"Then we go over personal values and what they mean to us, because a lot of the time you don't really think about these things, do you? You just go along in life without stopping to think.

"The next step is to talk about our path and what we want for our future. It's about giving people the idea that they're in control of their future. They might not be in control of their past or of things that have happened to them, but actually they've got full control of the future if they choose to take that on."

How to "meet our needs in a positive way" would also be discussed, Aston said.

"We talk about wellness tools, and things that keep us happy and healthy. That could be anything from our physical being to our relationships with other people to our mental and spiritual health.

"Working out what we're passionate about is also really important, and finding ways to turn that passion into a career.

"From there we can look at how we can set and achieve goals, and how to break them down into little bits so they're actually achievable."

Aston said other parts of the course included improving interpersonal skills, networking, and overcoming anxiety, something "a lot of people" had to deal with.

The free course begins on Tuesday, November 17, at Community House (60 Ridgway St).

"It runs from 10.30am till 3.30pm, every Tuesday for four weeks," Aston said.

"There's free food as well, so that's always an added bonus."

For more information, call Ria Aston on 06 345 4488 or 021 025 21613.