Youth Transitions – Are Adults Failing our Youth?

The announcement from John key regarding the proposed strengthening of supports for young people transitioning from school are welcomed, says leading youth organisation, Youthline.

The acknowledgment that we have too many young people who have recently left school but who are not in education, training or work is a vital start to addressing this issue and necessary if we are to build communities where all young people are encouraged to reach their potential and be actively to society.

Young people want to be engaged and want to be a part of the community however young people are far too often let down by the adults around them. All too often we see young people leaving school without a clear idea of their next steps or how to turn their skills into viable work options.  For many, even when aptitude and motivation are present, issues such as navigating the many systems, transport difficulties, lack of family support, and physical or mental health issues can become major barriers.

These barriers are set up by adults and by the structures that are supposed to be there to support them. The issue is the silo and fragmentation of service delivery and the need for better linking of systems and coordinated approaches to transition and the importance of keeping young people engaged.

Youthline has been working with young people for over 40 years and is a provider of both Alternative Education and Youth Transition Services. Youthline is particularly interested and involved in supporting youth into training and employment. Youth Transitions works to assist young people to navigate the systems and make successful transitions from school to what follows next.

Youthline works with thousands of young people transitioning each year providing a ‘pipeline’ with clear pathways of transition for youth with the addition of wraparound health and social services to support young people make a successful transition.

It is also clear that despite the best efforts of the education system there are still some young people for whom mainstream school will never be the best option. So whilst Youthline fully support every effort to engage young people in mainstream education, for some, alternatives are necessary. With very small teacher/student ratios and a wraparound support system including health care, mentoring, counselling, activities and development programmes, Alternative Education is an excellent example of what is needed to fully engage young people who are disconnected.  Our approach has demonstrated high rates of successful transition.

The Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa provides a clear framework from which to engage youth in all our communities. There are few examples of cohesive cross-sector approaches and so the Youth Development Strategy is not implemented in a coordinated way.

Equally, a fragmented sector does not allow strong leadership to emerge. As such, Youthline would like to see education, health, social services and the private sector working together to create successful and sustainable interventions.

For further comment contact Youthline National Spokesperson and Youthline Auckland’s CEO on Cell: 027 271 8151 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it