National Youth in Emergency Services programme launched

  • Nikki Kaye
Youth Affairs

Youth Affairs Minister Nikki Kaye has today announced $60,000 in funding to run Youth in Emergency Services (YES) programmes in six New Zealand communities.

“I was very impressed with the successful Youth in Emergency Services pilot programme run in Rotorua this year. I believe it is important to give young people in other areas the opportunity to experience this great programme,” Ms Kaye says.

“This funding will extend the Youth in Emergency Services programme to run in Kaikohe, Mangakino/Taupo, Rotorua (a second project) Gisborne, Alexandra and Kaikoura.

“Up to 15 young people in each of the six communities will be able to participate.

“This project gives these young New Zealanders a great opportunity to give back to their communities and see first-hand the outstanding job that our emergency services do.

“They get to learn from representatives from Civil Defence Emergency Management and from voluntary emergency services including fire brigades, ambulance and search and rescue.

“When I visited the graduation ceremony for the pilot programme in Rotorua in April, participants told me they felt more connected to their community and that they had gained skills and knowledge to enable them to help others. 

“People involved in the pilot programme couldn’t speak highly enough of the commitment shown and the impact that many of the emergency services representatives had on the lives of the young people participating,” Ms Kaye says.

The programme is a collaboration between the Ministry of Youth Development and Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management.

“By getting young people to participate in a range of emergency services, we both strengthen the capability of those emergency services and give young people important opportunities to show leadership in their communities,” Ms Kaye says.

“The feedback I have had from local government representatives in the six communities to run this programme is that they are delighted to have this opportunity for young people in their town or city.”

The programme involves young people being shown the skills necessary to work in various volunteer emergency services and provides the opportunity to demonstrate these skills in a range of group scenarios.

“Launching this national programme in Mangakino today is a great way to mark the start of Get Ready Week, which runs from tomorrow until 29 September. This is a Civil Defence initiative with the theme, know your neighbours, know your community,” Ms Kaye says.

More information on the YES project can be found on the Ministry of Youth Development website at http://www.myd.govt.nz/young-people/youth-in-emergency-services.html.

A DVD of the Youth In Emergency Services pilot in Rotorua can be found here: http://www.myd.govt.nz/young-people/youth-in-emergency-services.html

Quote from Paige Ryan-Adlam (Participant, YES Pilot Project, April 2013, Rotorua)

“It gave me a belief that I could actually attend something, actually turn up, and I find that I’ve actually been attending school more. I don’t know how it has come about, I can’t explain it. Before the training I went to maybe one or two classes a day possibly but now I’m going to every single class. My attendance is above 95%. My family got my report and my family was like holy god, the teachers actually know what to say about me because I’m there.”