The pilot trial of the government funded scheme to get youth into employment started in February, with a target of 12 employment outcomes by the end of June.
It has achieved 15 placements by the end of last week, Deputy Mayor Liz McMillan said, including two apprentices and one person on a graduate programme with the council's finance team.
Another nine people have achieved further driver licencing, and one person has undertaken further training through the programme, she said.
“The work will continue until June 30 and we aim to get as many of our young people who are not in employment, training or further education into one of those activities.
“We currently have 54 job seekers enrolled, 15 of which are in employment, one into study and seven have disengaged.”
There are 55 local employers registered with the programme, McMillan said.
“The council is discussing with the MTFJ the possibility of turning the pilot into an ongoing programme. We are in the proposal stage to determine the continued MTFJ programme in the Ashburton District, she said.
Funding for the programme was recently approved by the government, when it announced $18 million over two years.
- By Jonathan Leask
Local Democracy reporter
