Work experience can help you get a foot in the door. But what happens when the programme ends and there isn’t a job waiting on the other side? It’s a problem the Kindness Collective has heard time and time again from organisations working with rangatahi – and one its new Tupu Rangatahi programme has been designed to tackle.
Launching this November, Tupu Rangatahi is an employment, education and community programme supporting rangatahi Māori, Pasifika, refugee and migrant youth through practical qualifications, paid work experience and, crucially, pathways and ongoing support into employment.
Participants will build practical skills ranging from financial literacy and CV preparation, learn interview skills and practice, to barista, forklift, food safety and first aid qualifications before undertaking paid work experience across a range of workplaces. Rather than pointing rangatahi towards a single career, the programme gives them exposure to different industries and something tangible to put on their CV.
Employment partners are also providing pathways into employment with participants supported through interviews and applications into available roles within the businesses. Once employment has been secured, participants and employers will be supported for the first six months by the programme team.
The idea grew out of an informal pilot run during Kindness Collective‘s Christmas Joy Store last year, when seven young people completed paid work experience. Three moved into full-time employment, one returned to school, two were able to move into a flat together, three were able to purchase cars, while another gained early acceptance to study law at university.
The Trusts provided $95,000 as the programme’s founding funder, helping take Tupu Rangatahi from that initial pilot into a fully designed programme. Funding has supported its infrastructure, programme and brand development, rangatahi advisory committee formed, training for the first cohorts, uniforms, course costs and wages.
Kindness Collective Founder and CEO Sarah Page says the programme is about giving rangatahi evidence that they are capable of taking the next step. “What it meant was they had some money in the bank and something on their CV to go, actually, I do have the confidence to go and do this. I can work and I can earn money.”
Sarah says The Trusts’ support enabled the idea to move beyond the pilot. “If they didn’t provide this funding, we wouldn’t have been able to start this ball rolling. It has not been possible without the support from The Trusts.”
The Trusts CEO Allan Pollard says Tupu Rangatahi tackles an important gap between gaining skills and successfully entering the workforce. “Getting that first opportunity can change the direction of a young person’s life, but Tupu Rangatahi recognises that the opportunity itself isn’t enough. Kindness Collective is giving rangatahi the chance to build genuine independence and momentum. We’re incredibly proud to have helped get this programme off the ground.”
Learn more about Kindness Collective Foundation at kindness.org.nz and Tupu Rangatahi at tupurangatahi.co.nz, or follow them on Facebook.
If you or your organisation could use support from The Trusts, find out how to apply at thetrusts.co.nz/our-funds.
