WELLINGTON, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Minister of Employment, Willie Jackson, launched a program for employers to help them engage effectively with younger employees on Monday.
The Youth Ready Employer Program contains a range of on-line templates that employers can easily access to help with employing and retaining young people in their businesses.
The program's focus is on helping employers understand, connect, recruit, develop and retain young people, while creating work environments that support wellbeing and positive mental health.
"The program and its resources give a pathway to employers to follow and become youth-ready, something young people are looking for and prioritizing when they're looking for jobs," Jackson said.
"The focus is on finding ways to connect with the age group of 18 to 30 year olds who we know have some common characteristics, operating styles and work expectations," he said.
New Zealand isn't alone in trying to transition young people into work when there are the range of issues to overcome like social and economic disadvantage, mental health and other everyday barriers that block young people from accessing employment opportunities, the minister said.
These resources support the work the government is doing for the group of young people who are not working or studying in the 15 to 24 years age group, he said.
"We really want to steer this group away from benefit dependency and resources like this are helping employers create the right environment for younger team members to do their best work," he added.
