100% SWEET is a small organisation making a big difference in Whanganui. It’s a community initiative set up by the Whanganui District Employment Training Trust (WDETT), with one employee - Jason Shailer - who has been on board for the last three years.
100% SWEET also tracks approximately 600 students as they leave school each year. Jason works with those who need pastoral follow up and can continue to work with them until the age of 25.
Jason also acts as an employment broker, finding youth who can meet the needs of local employers. Many go on placement and employers provide feedback on how they went. For businesses it is a free resource, establishing where the gaps are, and ensuring training providers understand where the shortages lie, now and into the future. “Not only do young people need to be work ready, businesses and training providers need to be ready for them - making sure they are engaged and can see a clear pathway,” says Jason. The toughest challenge for 100% SWEET is resourcing, they are dependent on grants and funding from the Whanganui District Council. That said, they were recently successful in receiving support from the Provincial Growth Fund and have advertised for another staff member to join their team.
1 Comment
Annette
28/8/2019 12:50:45 pm
The 100% Sweet initiative was set up as a Mayors Taskforce for Jobs initiatve and its origin came from community consultation around the future focus of UCOL on the Whanganui Campus.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Accelerate25Together, committed to growing our region. Archives
July 2020
Categories |