However, a frontline Gore District Council manager says not all hope is lost for the youth, as programmes tackling the issue are seeing good results.
The quarterly economic report for December 2024 shows 17.1% of all 15 to 25-year-olds in Gore were in the category, up from 14.2% last year.
This is close to the 10-year peak of 17.5% during December 2021, and is 4.3% higher than the New Zealand average.
The Gore District Council discussed this issue at length at its meeting last Tuesday, and many councillors raised their concerns with the figures.
But community and economic development manager Guillaume Willemse said the numbers might be a touch misleading.
"The number potentially includes Neets who are on a benefit due to mental health issues or disabilities. I don’t think it’s specific to young people who are able to work," Mr Willemse said.
He and his team at the council work with youth with the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs programme, linking them with opportunities for further training or employment.
The programme is run nationwide and has had considerable success in Gore, as Mr Willemse said they had already hit their targets this year.
"Our target for the year is to deliver 20 sustainable outcomes. We have already surpassed that. We’re sitting at 32, with two or three months left.
"That gives you an idea of how successfully we run the programme," he said.
The task force also works closely with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Development, and various local employers and businesses to try provide the best start for youth looking to enter a workforce.
The Neet cycle, as Mr Willemse calls it, does not provide clarity over the reasons behind the decision to not work.
Mr Willemse said young people not in education, employment or training could be sitting on a couch playing video games, continuing a cycle of welfare dependence, or suffering from mental health issues.
"Background plays an extremely important role, as you can imagine. Kids do as mum and dad do.
"There’s also still this post-Covid cycle, where these kids didn’t go to school, they couldn’t socalise, and so decided to stay out and didn’t finish.
"They get social anxiety, and I refer to them as not work-ready. They need extra support. They can’t connect, can’t even look you in the eye," he said.
For Mr Willemse and his team, although the numbers may appear concerning, there is still good work being done in the background to ensure a productive future for youth in Gore.
"We won’t catch all the Neets. There are still a lot that fall through the cracks, and unfortunately as an organisation running MTJ, we don’t have much funding.
"We definitely can’t help everyone, but we will never turn anyone away," he said.
To the affected young people wondering about their place in the world, Mr Willemse said he and the team were there to help.
"We want you to grow, we want to help you grow mentally. Just take an hour out of your day. Come and talk to us.
"We are there to help guide you through the process. We’re there to guide; our intention is to create sustainable outcomes, happy people, happy clients, which gives us a happy community.
"It’s all a part of a big picture. Just come talk to us. Don’t feel it won’t work for you," he said.
