Media Release

Youth Apprenticeships pilot doubles in size

The Ministry of Education today announced the expansion of the Youth Apprenticeships pilot programme, with 10 additional schools to take part.

Youth Apprenticeships offers training and work experience so students can earn credits towards an apprenticeship while still at school. It aims to engage young people’s interest in education and skills training by connecting what they are doing at school to what they want to do as a career.

The Youth Apprenticeships pilot was launched in October last year with 10 schools from Whangarei to Dunedin taking part.

Deputy Secretary of Education Anne Jackson said the expansion was about maximising the benefit from the pilot.

“The Youth Apprenticeships pilot is about using existing resources, such as the Careers Information Grant (CIG), the Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR) and Gateway, and allowing schools greater flexibility to innovate and try different ideas. Youth Apprenticeships will help prepare students for opportunities in over 40 different industry sectors.

“The pilot kicked off in February and schools are working with their students on programmes that are relevant and meet their aspirations. We have already seen some innovations, such as letting Youth Apprentices take paid employment in work placements during school breaks.

“Adding more schools, and therefore more ideas, will increase the sum of knowledge we can gain from this pilot, and the enhancements the 20 schools are able to add will flow through to the Youth Apprenticeships scheme when it is fully rolled out.”

The full list of Youth Apprenticeships schools:

New schools (start pilot mid-2008)
Gisborne Girls’ High School
Onehunga High School
James Cook High School
Tauranga Boys’ College
Whangaroa College
Awatapu College
Aparima College
Kelston Girls’ College
Waitakere College
Western Springs College

Existing schools
Whangarei Boys’ High School
Howick College
Otahuhu College
Hamilton’s Fraser High School
Hauraki Plains College
Te Puke High School
Aotea College
Queen Charlotte College
Ashburton High School
Queen’s High School (Dunedin)

For more information:

Iain Butler
Senior Media Advisor
Ministry of Education
Phone: 04 463 8017
Mobile: 027 283 6122