NZDF Youth Development Initiatives

In 2009 the government announced funding enabling the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Education to purchase youth development programmes from the NZDF. The programmes are designed to equip youth with the life skills to assist them into employment or training.
All YDU activities are funded by $19 million of “new” money allocated for the purpose, no money was taken from existing NZDF budgets for any YDU activities.
The NZDF will provide three programmes to the NZ government:
- Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) scheme for Work and Income.
- Youth Life Skills (YLS) support to Service Academies which are run by secondary schools and funded by the Ministry of Education.
- The Military-Style Activity Camp (MAC) programme for youth offenders in conjunction with Child Youth and Family.

The programmes are delivered through Youth Development Units (YDU) based at Burnham (YDU South), Trentham (YDU Central) and Hobsonville (YDU North). YDU HQ is at Burnham.
Each YDU has staff dedicated to running the LSV courses and a separate YLS team who work with the service academies and MAC.
YDU staff are drawn from all three military services (Army, Navy and Air Force). Staff are on fixed term contracts to provide specialist
YDU instruction only.
Many YDU staff are personnel who left the military to work with youth and have re-enlisted to be part of the YDU and utilise their specialist skills.

The LSV course is an intensive 6 week residential course providing lifeskills to unemployed young people aged between 18-25. Trainees are volunteers who apply through Work and Income and are subject to medical and police checks.
In addition to NZDF staff, LSV courses also utilise specialist staff to provide instruction on a wide range of life skills like budgeting and the job application and interview process.
Each LSV course has a NZ Police liaison officer assigned. Social workers and other specialist staff are also available to support the trainees during the course.
In the 6 week period they are on the course, the trainees have little free time. The trainees undergo an intensive programme of lectures, workshops and physical activities designed to develop core values of respect, team work and trust which boost self esteem and self confidence.
In 2010 almost 2000 trainees will go through the LSV course at Burnham, Trentham and Hobsonville.

There are 19 Service Academies at high schools throughout New Zealand.
The academies provide a structured academic program supplemented with physical activity for students who may otherwise have left school without qualifications.
Each school with an academy employs an academy director who sets the programme and runs the activities in conjunction with the school’s teaching staff and YDU support staff as and when required.
YDU staff typically provide leadership development and outdoors adventure based training for the Service Academies.

The MAC programmes have been introduced as part of the Fresh Start, youth justice initiatives. Fresh start provides comprehensive 12 month rehabilitative courses for youth offenders at Child Youth and Family youth justice facilities.
YDU staff are only involved in the delivery of the physical aspects of the military-style camp, at the beginning of the 12 month course. This is a 9 week programme involving YDU staff which develops discipline, routine and a sense of self respect amongst the participants.
MAC participants are not resident on NZDF facilities and only visit bases and installations under strict supervision for activities like the confidence course and the high ropes course.

This page was last reviewed on 3 June 2010, and is current.