14 graduate from Northland councils' cadet scheme

Fourteen people aged 18 to 24 have today become the latest young Northlanders to officially graduate from an innovative local authority cadetship scheme designed to help them find fulltime work.
The 11 Northland councils’ cadets who took part in today’s official graduation ceremony in Whangarei.

The Northland Councils’ Cadetship Programme is an ongoing commitment between the Northland Regional and Whangarei and Kaipara District Councils, Work and Income and training provider People Potential.

The year-long cadetship programme began in 2004 as a regional initiative supported by the Northland Mayoral Forum and is designed to provide training, development and paid work experience to young people aged between 18 and 24.

It aims to teach them skills for long term work and sustainable careers and involves an initial eight-week placement with People Potential followed by a 10-month stint seconded to one of the partner councils.

Participating councils host the annual graduation ceremony on a rotating basis and this year it was the Northland Regional Council’s turn.

Eleven of the latest 14 cadets, and several dozen members of their families, supporters, co-workers and representatives from the partner organisations gathered at the regional council’s Water St Whangarei headquarters for today’s two-hour graduation.

Eight of the graduating cadets had been based with the Whangarei District Council, four with the Kaipara council and two the regional council.

The Whangarei District Council cadets are;
Caitlin Carr, Louise Ladbrooke, Sophie Moore, Adelaide Nauer, Amelie Rudich Daniel Scot, Jason Sefton and Daniel Stewart.

Kaipara’s cadets are;
Ashley Corbett, Nelson McCullough, Jamie Nikora and Raewyn Ringrose.

The Northland Regional Council cadets are;
Jordan Poasa and Allison Torkington.

Speaking at the graduation, Whangarei-based People Potential Manager Teresa Hill praised the programme for the significant difference it has made in the lives of so many young people.

Ms Hill says since its inception in 2004, more than 200 students had taken part in the scheme and of those more than half (115) had found work either as a council cadet or in other employment.  Another 53 had moved into further education.

Overall, more than 80 percent of those taking part in the cadet scheme “had secured a positive destination at completion of their training with us”.