Youth Employment Success (Yes) was originally launched in Dunedin with the goal of finding employers offering opportunities to young people and telling their positive stories.
This week, the Queensland government announced Regional Development Australia Darling Downs and South West had secured grant funding under the Workforce Connect Fund.
The matchmaking service for employers and job seekers would be a reality for the Darling Downs and South West, across all 10 local government areas.
Toowoomba regional jobs committee chairwoman Jennifer Rix described it as "game-changing" for the region’s youth.
Back in Dunedin, three of the main drivers of the programme — Firebrand managing director Bex Twemlow, Yes national programme manager Jay Haerewa and Ministry of Social Development regional labour market manager Emma Hamilton — were overjoyed with the confirmation.
While the Australian expansion was first mooted about four and a-half years ago, Covid put a stop to any progression. Fast forward to about a year ago and it was picked up again.
Mrs Twemlow said there were similar challenges and issues in those Queensland communities as there were in the communities Yes operated in throughout New Zealand.
Yes could show it had an impact on young people in those communities and the youth could see there were opportunities and career pathways.
In 2019, Yes won gold in the Good Design Awards in Australia, in the social impact category in recognition of outstanding design and innovation, which also helped with its profile.
The idea of Yes was born out of a Ministry of Social Development study award. The Youth Employment Governance Group was formed with agencies from across Dunedin and, from that, came the Yes campaign.
It was a community-led initiative, managed by Firebrand, and the opportunities offered through Yes were varied; it could be a job or a chat about career progression or the industry. It could be a mock interview, assistance with a CV or a walk-through of a business.
There were now 184 Yes employers across seven locations in New Zealand, providing more than 1400 opportunities; 80 employers were located in Dunedin, offering 682 opportunities.
Timing-wise, there was an increase in youth unemployment, in particular, and a great deal of worry and concern about what their future was going to be, Mrs Twemlow said.
Employers were saying they needed staff, but they needed people that were ready and understood what the jobs were like.
Yes was about inspiring young people to seek out opportunities from employers.
Going international was always part of the vision — "it was built so it could deliver outcomes for all young people" — and it would be launched by September, Mrs Twemlow said.
Covid meant people had learned to do things digitally and, while the Yes team would attend the launch, they had the tools and ability to deliver it remotely. There was the ability for the programme to be rolled out throughout Australia if necessary.
Ms Haerewa said Toowoomba had a refugee resettlement centre and there was correlation with Dunedin and its Syrian refugees.
Their Australian counterparts wanted to see the connection with mana whenua that had been building in New Zealand realised over there and part of that collaboration involved a local indigenous artist.
Ms Hamilton said the Yes team had done an "amazing job" taking the initial idea to what it had achieved, which was "so impressive".
"We just wanted to help Dunedin rangatahi, that’s what we wanted," she said.
Another three-year contract to deliver Yes into Eastern Southland had just been signed and the team also hoped to see the fulfillment of a collaboration with Te Kura correspondence school.
