RNZ’s Nine to Noon recently ran an interview with the chair of Youth Inspire and one of their rangatahi, Jazmine Kupenga.

Youth Inspire is a Hutt City organisation was started in Wainuiomata in 2014 in response to statistics which showed that about 25 percent of young people were leaving school without the soft or hard skills to move onto a meaningful life pathway.

The 13 week programme is based on the model Dale Williams developed in Otorohanga in 2010. It involves a partnership between school, the Council and employers.

Since 2000 there have been adult refugees attending classes at Selwyn College in Auckland. Some years there have been up to 140, this year there are 120. They are all enrolled at the college as secondary students, so the funding for the programme comes from the Ministry of Education.

The programme is called REAF – Refugee Education for Adults and Families.

Most weekdays, in a converted Port Waikato garage, there are three people working to bring adult literacy services to rural people. There’s the organisation’s manager, Jo Poland, Christine Ramsey the Community Coordinator and Jasmine Piacun, one-time learner and now the Volunteer Support Coordinator. Down in Wanaka the fourth member of the team, Kristi Cabot works from her home office as the Student Coach Coordinator.

By Alicia Gabán Barrio, Communications Officer and Project Assistant, EFET (European Forum of Technical and Vocational Education and Training.)

This report was released on July 11.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins said that more than 14000 New Zealanders contributed to an on-line survey on how the education system can help every learner to be successful – and about education changes they want to see.

The following themes were identified: