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Wairarapa and Chanel Colleges have been chosen as two of 75 schools taking part in a new pilot programme aimed at helping young people plan their move from school to further education or work.
The $5.5 million two-year Designing Careers pilot is part of the government's Youth Transitions Budget package announced earlier this year.
This pilot will reach more than 15,000 students in the 75 schools. This government is committed to improving career information and guidance in schools. It's important both economically and socially for all people to have goals, and have the means to reach those goals in the workforce and in education and training.
We need to make sure our teenagers are armed with the right information and skills to make good choices about where to next. This pilot will greatly enhance the existing career information and guidance services.
It will start next year and be evaluated before decisions are made about extending it or adapting it further.
The Designing Careers pilot is aimed at helping Year 10 (age 14) school students develop career management skills through the use of individual learning and career plans. These plans will help students decide which subjects or courses to follow at school, and help them decide what to do in terms of further education or work after they leave school.
The pilot will also target Year 11, 12 and 13 students who are at risk of not making successful transitions from school.
Career Services will provide the professional support and resources for participating schools and special online resources will also be made available.
All schools had the opportunity to register their interest in taking part in the pilot and there was a high level of interest. Schools were selected to cover a broad range of criteria, including region, decile, school type, roll size and capacity to deliver the pilot.
I urge parents and caregivers to be vigilant with children around heaters, following a recent incident of a child being severely burnt when his pyjamas caught fire.
I feel very sad that this family has had such a distressing time, but this unfortunate incident is a reminder that all fabrics, however well designed, will eventually burn if they are exposed to flames or a direct heat source.
While the Government has Product Safety Standards in place to reduce fire hazards from children's nightwear, it cannot totally eliminate this risk. Low fire risk doesn't mean no fire risk.
I would urge people to stick to the "metre-heater" rule and keep children at least one metre from open fires or heaters. People should also look at putting up safety guards around their heater if they have young children and watch children at all times when heaters are on.
Tips for parents and caregivers: be vigilant with children around heaters; stick to the "metre-heater rule"; put up safety guards around the heater if you have young children; and don't let children wear daywear over their "low fire danger" nightwear - this can increase the fire danger substantially.
A website launched by Creative New Zealand and the Australia Council for the Arts will be a valuable resource for arts professionals, especially those in Wairarapa.
The website www.fuel4arts.co.nz offers free advice on marketing and audience development from an international community of arts professionals and New Zealand artists will have the opportunity to learn from and contribute to an on-line community of arts-marketers from around the world.
The initiative is a direct response to research by Creative New Zealand that showed most New Zealand artists felt they needed more help in the areas of marketing and audience development.
The website includes arts marketing case studies, on-line forums, articles, trend reports, research and an up-to-date database of industry contacts.
New Zealand artists will benefit from content developed specifically to address local market issues and will also be able to communicate with, learn from and exchange ideas with international arts marketing professionals.
The Government is committed to developing an environment where arts professionals can thrive. Sharing knowledge on marketing and audience development is an important part of sustaining and growing the arts sector in New Zealand.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Tararua Big Brother Big Sister programme's 10th anniversary dinner in Dannevirke.
It was great to help celebrate a decade of this mentoring programme and I was extremely impressed with the dedication of those involved.
The programme was one of six piloted by the Crime Prevention unit and provides young people with supported friendships with adult volunteers.
My thanks to everyone involved for their commitment and also for the great welcome they gave me.
While I was in the northern end of the electorate I visited Norsewood and Norsewood School. My thanks also to them for making me welcome.
I also had a great time at this year's Carterton Daffodil Carnival. The weather may not have been ideal, but there were plenty of people attending and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Finally next week we will be hosting the Prime Minister, Steve Maharey and Parekura Horomia for a set of community forums and also Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton will be in Masterton to visit flood-affected farmers.
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