• Modern Apprenticesips Expands
• Mick Brown Review of Child, Youth and Family
• Making Work Pay
• Commitment to Broadcasting Unchanged
• CIT Decision Near
• Access To Benefit Manuals

Modern Apprenticesips Expands
The Government's successful Modern Apprenticeships programme is to expand into industries as diverse as aeronautical engineering, outdoor recreation, and sports turf management this year, Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey announced last week.

Modern Apprenticeships is a new work-based education initiative which combines the best aspects of traditional apprenticeships with additional features designed to assist more young people to get access to employment-based training towards national qualifications.

The second phase of its nationwide roll-out begins in June 2001 bringing the programme into the agriculture, forestry and fisheries; community and social services; food and related products processing; and service industries and expands coverage within the building and construction, and engineering industries.

Skill New Zealand is now inviting proposals from organisations ready to become Modern Apprenticeships Co-ordinators. These Co-ordinators work with employers, apprentices, ITOs and education providers to make taking on an apprentice easy for employers. They also provide mentoring to help young people complete their qualification.

Less than a year after the Government first announced the Modern Apprenticeships concept, there are 500 Modern Apprentices in industry training, and coverage has been extended across a good proportion of New Zealand's industries.

* further information about Modern Apprenticeships is available from Skill New Zealand, call tollfree 0800 SKILLNZ (0800 754 556) or visit www.modern-apprenticeships.govt.nz

Mick Brown Review of Child, Youth and Family
The Government will release its response to Mick Brown's review of Child, Youth and Family (CYF) and the report on Thursday.

Former Principal Youth Court Judge Mick Brown was commissioned last March to conduct independent reviews into how the CYF responds to referrals of child abuse or neglect, and places at risk children. Since that time the Department has experienced a sharp increase in demand for its services which has led to delays in responding to abuse notifications.

Mr Maharey said the Brown report was timely and that the Government was committed to improvements so that a more effective service can be provided.

* the Government's response to the Brown report and the full text of the report will be available on the Ministry of Social Policy website from 12noon on Thursday at www.msp.govt.nz

Making Work Pay
Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey committed the Government to a fundamentally new approach to welfare during the committee stages of the Social Security Amendment Bill in Parliament this week.

The focus of the Government's welfare reform programme is about making work pay - moving beneficiaries from welfare into real jobs paying real wages.

This Bill replaces the Community Wage with two benefits - a work-tested unemployment benefit, and a non-work tested sickness benefit. Creating separate benefits reinforces that people in different situations have different needs. The Bill also scraps mandatory community work and brings in a new Activity in the Community programme.

Existing sanctions and stand-down provisions are also being changed to make the system simpler and fairer.

Mr Maharey said the bill introduced a new social contract - security of benefit assistance in return for people being active participants in building their own capacity to return to paid employment. It was a "hardheaded change. People who fail to take-up suitable jobs that are offered to them have no right to expect to receive tax-payer support. There is no way in which this Government will support unemployment as a life-style option," Mr Maharey said.

Commitment to Broadcasting Unchanged
Acting Minister of Broadcasting Steve Maharey will be contacting industry stakeholders over the next few weeks as he familiarises himself with the key policy issues facing the industry and the Government. Mr Maharey was appointed acting minister on Friday. He paid tribute to contribution Marian Hobbs had made to the portfolio as Opposition spokesperson and since the election.

Mr Maharey has a long-standing interest in broadcasting policy, including a period as the Labour Party spokesperson. The portfolio is a key one, and the Government is committed to implementing the policies on which it was elected.

CIT Decision Near
A decision on the future of the Central Institute of Technology (CIT) is expected to be made by the end of March. CIT and the Hutt Valley Polytechnic submitted a business plan to Associate Education (Tertiary Education) Minister Steve Maharey in December seeking to combine their operations. Public submissions were called on the proposal and the Minister is now awaiting advice from the Ministry of Education before taking the issue to the Cabinet for a final decision. Mr Maharey, accompanied by Rimutaka MP Paul Swain, visited CIT and the Hutt Valley Polytechnic this week to meet with staff, student, council and management representatives as part of the information gathering process prior to making a final decision.

Access To Benefit Manuals
Department of Work and Income benefit manuals are being made available to beneficiary advocacy and community groups this year. Groups have in the past been critical that DWI was not informing beneficiaries of their entitlements and Steve Maharey asked that the manuals be made available to provide transparent evidence that this is no longer the case.