Kotahitanga - Supporting our young people to thrive

‘Life changing’ LSV course for young people

For the past 26 years, we’ve partnered with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to get young people work-ready on the Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) course, and now we’re expanding.

Described as a ‘life changing opportunity’, LSV is a free, six-week residential training course that challenges young people to take part in a range of activities that help them build their confidence, fitness and life skills. From preparing their CVs to tackling high ropes courses, LSV gives young people a boost into work and employers a great new staff member.

This year, we’ve expanded the course from 800 places to 1,200, and this will increase to 1,600 places by 2020. This will give more young people the opportunity to take part and help them get the skills they need to get a job.

The Government has supported the expansion by providing new facilities at Whenuapai Air Base in Auckland and Trentham in Wellington. These new facilities, along with existing courses at Burnham Military Camp in Christchurch, mean the course now has three venues to operate from. In 2020 there’ll be 13 courses running across the three sites each year.

Graduates have said LSV challenges them to be the best version of themselves and makes them feel proud.

“LSV helps find direction in your life. You grow so much and feel so proud to be who you are,” says Maia, a 2019 graduate.

After the course, graduates go on to work in a range of industries and are an asset to their employers.

“LSV is a win-win. We help young people into employment, knowing the graduates we take on have self-discipline, determination and stamina,” says Fulton Hogan, NZ CEO Graeme Johnson.

MSD case managers work with young people, helping them prepare for the course and making sure they have all the information they need for six life changing weeks.

Our next course dates are: Christchurch 14 October Wellington 21 October Auckland 4 November.

People who are interested in finding out more about LSV, can contact us at LSV@msd.govt.nz. There’s also more information on our website.

The Hive helping young people engage in issues

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and The Hivers.

A project to increase young people’s participation in the policy development process has resulted in the design and creation of The Hive.

In 2018, a team from the Ministry of Youth Development/Te Manatῡ Whakahiato Taiohi and MSD entered a project into Lightning Lab GovTech to increase young people’s participation in the policy development process.

The GovTech programme is designed to provide an opportunity to rapidly build, test, validate and experiment with new approaches and technologies to enable extraordinary government.

The outcome of the GovTech programme was the design and creation of The Hive. The aim of The Hive is to support and encourage rangatahi to contribute their thoughts and opinions in a way that works for them.

It focuses on building two-way communication between young people and government agencies, by building trust and allowing rangatahi to engage with the issues of interest to them. It aims to involve more young people in the policy development process, by using social media to connect and engage.

Following GovTech, The Hive received funding from the Department of Internal Affairs Innovation Fund. In June, Curative was tasked with running a two-day co-design hui with 15 young people (The Hivers), where they produced accessible and relevant policy content, designed branding materials, and created material for use on social media channels. The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern surprised the rangatahi with a visit and provided some encouraging words.

In early August, The Hive website was launched featuring a call for submissions on Aotearoa New Zealand’s Biodiversity Strategy, being led by the Department of Conservation. Rangatahi were encouraged to contribute their voice, either through answering four questions, submitting a video, or taking part in polls on Instagram.

Along with using social media channels to raise awareness and encourage action, The Hivers delivered school speeches, and distributed posters and hard copy versions of the questions to facilitate offline engagement. Submissions closed on 22 September, with over 285 received from rangatahi throughout Aotearoa. These are currently being analysed and will help to inform the development of the new Biodiversity Strategy.

The Hive will be exploring new opportunities for future policy engagement and will continue to build on the momentum and trust built with rangatahi so far.

Visit The Hive to learn more.

Voice of rangatahi heard at Parliament

The six-month Youth Parliament 2019 programme, which wrapped up last month, provided an opportunity for rangatahi from around Aotearoa New Zealand to actively work and be heard on topics and issues they are passionate about. 

During the two-day Parliament, 120 Youth MPs participated in several activities. The general debate provided an opportunity for them to give speeches on topics including mental health, the environment and climate change, and social issues facing youth.

The legislative debate saw Youth MPs discuss the content of the mock Sustainable Energy Bill. Youth MPs then participated in a vote, passing the mock bill 72 votes to 45, with two abstaining.

Youth MPs asked questions of Ministers during Question Time. The Speaker’s Youth MP, Rayan Lootah, had the opportunity to act as the Speaker during both the general and legislative debates.

Youth MPs participated in one of 10 Youth Parliament select committees. Reports were created from the evidence heard and the discussion which took place in these committees, and these reports were presented to the House. Youth MPs expressed interest in presenting these reports to the actual select committees that they mirrored in the Youth Parliament. The Office of the Clerk is following up with Parliamentary select committee chairs to organise presentations.

The Youth Press Gallery members reported on Youth MPs and the projects they delivered on topics of interest to them during the six-month Youth Parliament programme. The programme concluded at the end of August.