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SciTech Daily Review

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Retorts

Unemployment

It is nothing short of tragic to see the squandering of many of our bright young tertiary graduates through lack of care and lack of placement. After obtaining a qualification at considerable cost to the community, their parents and themselves, because they cannot find employment in their chosen field they either drift into a career without relevance to their qualification or head overseas.

The gaining of work experience is an essential part of the qualification, and if we mean what we say in headlines such as "the future success of the nation is dependent on up-skilling workers", then the Government and the business community are being less than honest if they fail to provide that opportunity.

My company, a medium-sized engineering company near Wellington, is trying to put its money where its mouth is by providing a fully paid 10-month work experience programme for graduate engineers. At the end of the 10 months, the graduates will have a work reference and a certificate of achievement. Hopefully they will be launched into careers as engineers. My company is also providing paid holiday work to University and Polytech students on a regular basis.

Unfortunately the government, hell-bent on being seen to support the uneducated unemployed, does not seem interested in helping the educated unemployed. If as an employer I could gain some assistance, say the equivalent of the unemployment benefit, I would take on two graduates and perhaps Mr X down the road would take on one as well. Surely this is a small price for the community to pay to provide that vital first work experience to add to the qualifications of our young technocrats, the people on whom the community will be depending as we move into the 21st century,

D.J. Weaver, Johnsonville