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Guidelines for Employers: Supporting Young People into Employment

September 2018

September 2018

Affiliation: Massey University

Authors:

Lauren Alessi

Colorado State University

Robyn Munford

Massey University

Jackie Sanders

Massey University

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These guidelines draw on the PARTH model and identify the key factors that enable employers to effectively support vulnerable young people into employment.

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Guidelines for Employers

Supporting Young People into

Employment

Lauren Alessi

Robyn Munford

Jackie Sanders

Robyn Lentell

Will Johnston

Ruth Ballantyne

Massey University in partnership with Youth Connections, Auckland Council

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS

SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE

INTO EMPLOYMENT

Lauren Alessi

Robyn Munford

Jackie Sanders

Robyn Lentell

Will Johnston

Ruth Ballantyne

2018

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank all the young people who

participated in the Pathways to Resilience

and Youth Transitions research projects

and gave us their time and commitment,

generously sharing the details of

their lives with us. Many of the young

people also nominated a Person Most

Knowledgeable (PMK), someone close to

the young person who knew about their

journey. Thank you to the PMKs for their

participation in the research projects.

We thank all the people and organisations

who supported the research. A special

thank you to Kapiti Youth Support (KYS)

and Youthline Auckland.

We thank the Ministry of Business

Innovation and Employment (MBIE)

for funding this long-term research

programme.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ............................................................... 2

Table of Contents ................................................................... 2

Introduction ............................................................................ 3

Why these guidelines? .......................................................... 3

Background ............................................................................ 4

Challenges facing employers and young people ................ 4

What do we mean by vulnerable young people? ............... 5

How was PARTH developed? ............................................... 6

PARTH: Guidelines for Employers ....................................... 7

Passion, Perseverance, Persistence, Perspective ................ 8

Adaptability, Agility, Agency, Action-Oriented ................. 11

Relationships, Respect, Reciprocity, Relevant,

Responsive ........................................................................... 15

Time, Trust, Transparency, Thresholds, Transitions ........ 18

Honesty, Humility, Hopeful Orientation ............................. 22

Bibliography ......................................................................... 25

Relevant Journal Articles and Reports .............................. 26

Actions Plans for putting PARTH into your

Employment Practices with Young People ....................... 27

Guideline 1 ........................................................................... 28

Guideline 2 ........................................................................... 30

Guideline 3 ........................................................................... 32

Guideline 4 ........................................................................... 34

Guideline 5 ........................................................................... 37

Template Action Plans ........................................................ 39

Contacts ................................................................................ 45

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 2

INTRODUCTION

Why these guidelines?

These guidelines are for employers seeking to employ young

people. In particular, they will assist employers to better

understand the experiences of vulnerable young people and to

develop effective strategies for working with youth who are not

involved in education or training. The guidelines are informed

by two Massey University research projects – the Pathways to

Resilience and Youth Transitions studies led by Professors Robyn

Munford and Jackie Sanders (see www.youthsay.co.nz). These

guidelines draw on the key elements of the PARTH model, which

promotes effective engagement with young people.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 3

BACKGROUND

Challenges facing employers and young people

Employment matters to young people because it provides

the opportunity for them to learn new skills, build conﬁdence

in their abilities, contribute to their communities, and create

ﬁnancial security. Employment offers the opportunity for

young people to make decisions, to contribute to a team, and

to set goals. Through work, young people can experiment with

career pathways, and identify future jobs or skills they would

like to acquire. Young people also develop new identities

related to work—as a worker, employee, contributing member

of society, and ﬁnancial provider. Ideally, young people’s

transitions into employment allow for the development of

positive identities, however, research shows that employment

can often be quite fraught for young people.

Entry into employment and/or ﬁnding employment as a

young person can be a challenging endeavour. Starting a

ﬁrst job means taking on a new responsibility, interacting

with the community in a different way, and making lifestyle

changes in order to meet work requirements. When young

people are also enrolled in school, educational or vocational

training, challenges associated with joining the workforce

may be compounded due to additional time commitments

and managing the logistics of these. Many young people

also juggle familial obligations and extracurricular activities

(for example, church or sport) on top of work. While young

people’s involvement in multiple activities and systems like

school, family, and community activities, can provide great

opportunities for improved wellbeing, it can also lead to

conﬂicting goals and values. For example, having to navigate

two divergent spaces such as church and the workforce might

produce challenges in balancing different expectations, norms,

and practices (for example, language, rituals, and ways of

relating to one another). Employers and other trusted adults

can support young people to transition into paid work and

assist them to develop strategies for balancing work with their

other commitments.

Young people experience setbacks at various stages of their

employment journeys: when preparing to enter the workforce,

throughout the application and recruitment processes,

adjusting to life with a job, staying motivated and progressing

down a career path.

The process of applying for jobs and learning about

workplace culture can be confusing. Many young people do

not have adequate resources, either from family, school, or

community, to orient them to the world of work. Employers

can assist young people by showing that they understand

this phase in life can be daunting and confusing, by

providing constructive feedback to young people who seek

work with them, and by sharing their networks and contacts.

They may not know what to expect when looking for a job

or even a proper strategy for getting started on submitting

applications. Recruitment practices often make it harder for

young people to apply for work. Young people may not have

a work history or relevant training so are unable to provide

these for employers. Some young people also note racism and

discrimination in the hiring process; many feel unfairly labelled

and stigmatised because of their background and educational

achievement. If offered a job, young people encounter

unfamiliar language, practices, and norms or guidelines, often

without guidance or mentorship on how to navigate these new

spaces. Likewise, businesses and employers are sometimes

unfamiliar with youth culture and do not know how to harness

the cultural strengths and diversity of young people.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 4

In these situations, when young people enter the workforce

and ﬁnd themselves struggling to adapt or without proper

supports, it becomes more likely that they will disengage

from work altogether.

Though young people experience challenges with

employment, they overwhelmingly express a desire to

ﬁnd and maintain employment. This highlights the need

for tailored attention and support for young people in the

workforce.

Given that employment is such a crucial stepping-stone

for young people into adulthood, independence, and self-

sufﬁciency, employers are uniquely positioned to inﬂuence

young people by playing roles as mentors and supervisors.

While employing young people does involve challenges

since they require more attention, guidance, and ﬂexibility,

there are also great beneﬁts for employers who hire young

people. Young people bring with them cultural connections,

fresh ideas, and will be connected to different parts of

society than their older counterparts in the workforce

allowing for increased diversity of perspectives and greater

representation within the community. Employing young

people is an investment in the future of your workforce,

industry, and community. It is a way to tap into talent and

culture in your neighbourhood. Young people are often

technologically savvy and can keep employers up-to-date

with emerging platforms and communication styles. In

training young employees, businesses and employers are

able to stay on the cutting edge with developments in their

industry as well as reﬁne their coaching and mentoring

skills for managers and leaders.

What do we mean by vulnerable young people?

While these guidelines will be of interest to employers in

general, they have a speciﬁc focus on the employment of

vulnerable young people. The Massey University research

explored the experiences of young people who experienced

chronic exposure to adverse childhood experiences. The

young people taking part in the research were multiple-

service users and were involved in one or more service

spanning the education, employment, mental health,

child welfare, and youth justice ﬁelds. Being involved with

multiple services highlights young people’s increased

vulnerability and the need for extra support, supervision,

and intervention, when compared to other young people in

the general population. Multiple-service using youth tend

to report higher levels of stress, more disadvantages, and

fewer protective factors, and they have limited material,

environmental, and individual resources available to manage

adversity. The young people in these studies were less likely

to live with one or both biological parents, experienced a

relative absence of enduring, positive caregiver presence in

their lives, reported higher levels of emotional and physical

disengagement from mainstream schools, and higher health

and wellbeing risks (Sanders et al., 2013).

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 5

How was PARTH developed?

The PARTH model is a set of practice orientations that lead

to better outcomes when working with vulnerable young

people. These orientations were developed from the ﬁndings

of the Pathways to Resilience and Youth Transitions research

(Massey University, see www.youthsay.co.nz). PARTH can

be used in any support, service, or intervention to guide

interactions with young people on immediate issues and

in developing long-term goals. PARTH focuses on “how”

practitioners (or, in this case, employers) can work with

young people to achieve better outcomes and can be applied

in a variety of practice settings. These orientations are being

used in practice by social workers, teachers, counsellors,

psychologists, youth workers, support workers, and with

the development of these guidelines, employers. PARTH is

youth-centred, meaning young people are at the centre of

decision-making. PARTH-focused services and interventions

build on the resources and capacities young people bring to

the support relationship or service experience.

Each of the ﬁve orientations was developed in response to

what young people described as positive/facilitative factors

and negative factors/barriers to engagement with services.

Some of these stories are presented in the discussion of each

of the orientations in order to highlight the PARTH principles.

For the purposes of these guidelines, we have adapted the

PARTH principles to have relevance to employment and other

work-related services and situations. PARTH reﬂects elements

of practice that young people spoke of as being most

advantageous to their engagement, success, and overall

wellbeing.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN

PRACTITIONERS AND YOUNG PEOPLE

ARE BASED ON RESPECT AND

RECIPROCITY; THEY ARE RELEVANT

AND RESPONSIVE

HONESTY, HUMILITY,

HOPEFUL-ORIENTATION

PASSION, PERSEVERANCE,

PERSISTENCE, PERSPECTIVE

ADAPTABILITY, AGILITY, AGENCY,

ACTION-ORIENTED

TIME, TRUST, TRANSPARENCY,

THRESHOLDS, TRANSITIONS

The PARTH Model

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 6

PARTH: GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS

The following sections describe the PARTH model and

its application to employment practices. It discusses the

many components of practice that young people identiﬁed

as being particularly facilitative of positive engagement.

While PARTH was initially developed for practitioners

working with young people in social service settings,

there are clear translations of these practices into the

employment sector. We see many opportunities for the

application of these orientations to employment practices

and highlight the versatility of PARTH in being able to

be adapted to each employer or organisation’s unique

setting, goals, and available resources.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 7

PASSION, PERSEVERANCE, PERSISTENCE, PERSPECTIVE

Effective work begins with employer passion.

When employers demonstrate passion for working with

young people this helps young people to succeed. Because

young people can be disengaged from school or other

community supports, employment can be a crucial network

and opportunity for them.

Passion entails a focus on understanding how risk

and resilience shape young people’s experiences and

behaviours—the “whole person” and their context. When

employers listen carefully to the young person and respond

to their practical and emotional needs they make it easier for

them to remain in the workforce.

 Young people know when employers and practitioners

are just “going through the motions.” They also know

when someone is inspired, committed and happy to be

working with them.

 Inspire passion in workers by demonstrating passion

for your own work as well as passion for keeping young

people employed and for ﬁnding ways to support them.

A supportive employer-employee relationship is based on

perseverance and persistence. Perseverance is a commitment

to the young person over time. Since many young people

live tumultuous, chaotic lives, the stability of adult

commitment and support is highly valued and promotes a

sense of wellbeing and belonging while also helping to build

resilience. Young people appreciate working with dedicated

adults who are willing to stick with them through tough

times; they do not back away or disconnect when young

people are having a rough time or when young people might

be distancing or disconnecting themselves. Young people

appreciate regular communication and persistence in staying

in touch with them as well as following through with plans

and expectations. Perseverance and persistence compensate

for practical and emotional supports that are otherwise

missing from young people’s lives. It means that employers/

supervisors/workers will endure through the hard times.

 Long-term, unconditional commitment counteracts

disrupted attachment, fractured relationships, emotional

distress and exposure to harm and provides a way of

keeping the young person engaged in employment.

 Understand that there will be hard times for the young

person, either work-related or more generally. Be

willing to listen and offer support, be patient with the

young person. Hiccups and slip-ups are to be expected.

If this happens, show compassion and explain that

these are normal. Help them to develop a plan for

moving forward and for resolving the problem if it

occurred in the workplace.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 8

A young person’s perspective can bring value to the

workplace when it is heard and respected; for example,

in setting expectations, performance standards, and in

providing supervision and support. It is important to

understand that young people may have traumatic, violent,

and unstable pasts, which will inﬂuence their current

behaviour and decision-making.

Perspective highlights the importance of understanding these

circumstances and of adopting positive youth development

and strengths-based approaches to employment (Sanders

and Munford, 2016). Having paid work is crucial for young

people, particularly those not engaged in other education

or training, since it connects them to prosocial, positive

networks and enables them to meet and build relationships

with adults and other young people. Employment can

provide opportunities for training, skill development, and

the trialling of different jobs or career paths. Being in work

offers an opportunity for young people to access ﬁnancial

resources, build a resume, plan and set career goals, and

form an identity around themselves as “employees” and

“workers.”

It helps when employers consider a young person’s

situation, their needs, strengths, and challenges.

Understand that young people might have extra challenges

getting to and from work; therefore be patient and

understanding with regard to punctuality. Young people

may not have the proper clothes/uniform to wear to work.

Be clear about the dress code but also help them plan

what they can wear, where to shop, or how to acquire

appropriate clothing.

Employers express challenges and frustrations in hiring

young people, particularly around not understanding

young people. Employers share experiences about

younger employees who do not seem motivated, who

do not understand the importance of work, or who lack

an understanding of professionalism and decorum. The

Attitude Gap Challenge (see Bibliography) highlights these

issues and the challenges employers face in understanding

young people’s motivations, their personality and interests

and the way these things impact on work performance.

Employers may not dedicate resources and time to helping

young people adapt to a new job or work environment.

Employers may dismiss young people as viable employees

or do not think they would get a return on investment for

training younger employees. It is important for employers

to appreciate young people’s perspectives; many young

people’s families, schools, and communities do not have the

knowledge or networks to adequately prepare young people

for employment. As a result, young people need employers

who will exercise persistence and perseverance in supporting

young employees. When employers are passionate about

helping young people learn they are better able to integrate

into work culture. There will be an adjustment period and

employers can help young people by being sympathetic

to them if they are not familiar with certain professional

standards, such as making eye contact.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 9

EMERE’S STORY 1

Emere spoke of the powerful impact her practitioner had

on her feelings and experiences. When Emere transitioned

out of care, her practitioner kept in contact with her and

checked in regularly to see how she was doing. She provided

emotional and practical support:

I thank [practitioner] for being there to talk to…coz I thank her for

also trying, coz she tried …how many years, she’s still trying, you

know, she’s still trying to get me to go on the course and do this and

that. We communicated now she knows that’s where my head’s at

now but she wasn’t like she tried and she tried and she tried but she

didn’t give up…She didn’t just chuck in the towel and walk away just

coz I said no. She come back the next day or a couple hours, when I

calm down, try it again.

Even though at times Emere resisted her practitioner’s

involvement because she was not in the space to start a

course, her practitioner persisted in helping her. Honouring

where Emere was at emotionally, meant that her practitioner

backed off when she needed space; she did not push her

own agenda and rather let Emere direct the services she

received. With young employees, remember the importance

of listening to them in terms of what they want to learn,

what their capacity is for fulﬁlling work obligations or taking

on new tasks. If they seem resistant or distant, do not give

up but rather give them some space and check back in

regularly. Find the right time to bring up issues and support

them in exploring these. Help them to keep focused on

the employment goals they want to achieve. Mei’s story

emphasises the importance of ongoing support from an

employer.

1 These quotations are taken from the Youth Transitions and Pathways to Resilience research studies. Pseudonyms are used.

MEI’S STORY

Mei was working seasonally on a farm but ended up leaving

before the season ended due to physical exhaustion and

feeling left out among her co-workers. At ﬁrst, Mei said she

got along with her co-workers, who were mostly male, but

over time, started to feel out of place:

I would rather be getting paid a lot less, $300 week even to be doing

something that I like to do and that is a lot easier especially for a

female. A lot of guys don’t mind working around lambs and stuff like

that and like doing that kind of stuff. But there was only three other

girls that I had worked with and they’d all worked on farms before

and they were used to it. Whereas I was just like, feeling like I didn’t

know what to do.

As Mei describes, she lost interest in the work over time

because of how hard it was physically but also because she

didn’t feel connected to or supported by her co-workers

and her lack of background knowledge made her feel that

she could not do the work properly. Mei’s story highlights

the need for employers to provide consistent support and

supervision to employees, to ensure they are adapting to a

new work space well and that they are given opportunities to

build their knowledge.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 10

ADAPTABILITY, AGILITY, AGENCY, ACTION-ORIENTED

Employers can demonstrate adaptability and agility by

responding to the unique needs of each young person.

Young people may lead chaotic, unstable lifestyles.

Understand that they are juggling many demands,

emotional struggles, and transitions into independence.

While employment plays a crucial part in transitioning into

and establishing independence and autonomy, there will

undoubtedly be complications for young people. Young

people are constantly having to adjust and adapt to their

changing circumstances, including changes in: living

situations, ﬁnancial stability/circumstances, relationships,

family obligations (for example, caring for siblings or other

family members), education (switching schools), health

(illness, addiction, mental health), foster or care placements,

and justice involvement.

Adjust interactions with young people, look for

alternatives and reﬂect on what they are doing.

Reﬂective and adaptable practice responds to the

changing needs of young people while demonstrating

commitment to meeting their needs and building a

supportive relationship.

Involve a mix of training opportunities based on

the young person’s needs, skills, and desired areas

of learning, including agility in supervision and

mentorship.

While it may not be necessary or appropriate to ask

the young person everything they are struggling with,

it is important to be available and willing to listen

should the young person want to conﬁde in you.

Offer ﬂexibility to the young person in meeting their

work requirements such as ﬂexible work schedules or

transportation assistance.

Allow ﬂexibility in setting expectations and

consequences for young people. Understand that they

have many additional, compounding factors affecting

their work.

Allow some ﬂexibility in the rules as a way to recognise the

pressures and challenges young people may face. It is very

important to take into consideration the young people’s

lives and circumstances, as this will help foster resilience-

building and employment success.

Employers foster agency in young people by keeping them

at the centre of their work. Agency is about being heard and

being supported to make decisions (Munford and Sanders,

2015b). Employment offers an important opportunity for

young people to develop skills, work experience, as well as

autonomy. The work environment offers young people space

to try out a new identity as a worker and employee. Through

work, young people learn new and different degrees of

responsibility, independence, and capability.

Provide opportunities for young people to test out and

develop new skills. If appropriate, pair young people

with mentors.

Highlight the importance of trial and error and support

young people to learn how to make decisions and

choices. Show compassion and support when young

people make mistakes, highlighting areas for growth or

learning opportunities; help them strategise how to do

things differently moving forward. When young people

are supported through struggle and “failure,” it creates

a safe and enduring environment for young people to

thrive in and exercise autonomy.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 11

 Recognise those times when young people contribute

their skills and knowledge to the enterprise.

Employers strive to be action-oriented when working with

young people. Research from the Pathways to Resilience

and Youth Transitions studies found that young people’s

involvement with services might not always lead to

improved wellbeing. Engagement with services is a complex

process and requires that practitioners take the time to

understand how young people experience their involvement

with services. Some young people experienced service

providers being unresponsive, not following-through,

offering conﬂicting information from other providers, and

even causing more harm. It is important that employers

work in partnership with young people to identify potential

challenges, setbacks, and areas of opportunity.

 Employers work with young people to ﬁnd solutions to

any challenges the young person might be experiencing

in the workplace, drawing up action plans, setting goals,

and checking in on their progress.

 Ensure that performance reviews, action plans, career/

work goals lead to meaningful change and delivery of

training or other meaningful support.

 Offer practical as well as emotional support. If the

young person is experiencing challenges outside the

workplace, employers can also help in ﬁnding solutions

and connect young people with the right resources and

support.

While employers may have concerns about how young

people manage themselves in the workplace (The Attitude

Gap Challenge (see Bibliography)) young people also report

confusion about how to manage in the workplace. They

may struggle around the interview and performance review

processes and interviewing may feel intimidating and

uncomfortable for young people. They are not necessarily

used to interacting with adults in a professional setting,

may be nervous about making a good impression, and

uncertain of what to say, how to prepare or how to present

themselves to employers in interviews. They may also not

have had many positive encounters with adults in positions

of power over them and so may struggle to know how to

interact positively. To alleviate the pressure young people

feel around interviews, employers can communicate clearly

their expectations prior to interviews and can adopt a warm

and welcoming demeanour while doing this. Let the young

people know that you want to get to know them and their

personalities. Some employers have found group interviews

to be a good way to gauge how well young people would

ﬁt in. Employers also talk about assessing young people’s

performances and how they sometimes do not meet

performance standards typically used for other employees.

Due to the life experiences of vulnerable young people, it

can be hard for them to perform in the same way as adult

or more stable youth co-workers. Employers can remain

adaptable and agile by setting expectations and reviewing

young people’s performance.

Give young people time to adjust to their new roles and be

clear and proactive in offering support and guidance for how

they can better meet expectations or grow professionally.

Younger employees also beneﬁt from more training,

particularly on the job training that builds competence in

particular roles. Although employers might prioritise training

and professional development for the high-performers,

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 12

training is equally an opportunity to re-engage employees

who are struggling. Finding ways to offer training not only

empowers young people with new skills and conﬁdence

on the job but also conveys an employer’s investment in

building them up and keeping them around.

ANARU’S STORY

Anaru worked on a farm for nearly eight months. He started

out milking and then progressed to driving a tractor by the

end of his time there. While he loved the work and how

proﬁtable it was for him ﬁnancially, he ended up quitting.

At ﬁrst, his mate also worked there which contributed to

him liking the work. When his mate stopped working there,

Anaru’s problems with his boss and co-workers got worse.

He described his co-workers as lazy and that he had to carry

the brunt of the work. His boss would also give him very

short notice about needing to come into work, which was

inconvenient and interrupted his other plans. After a night of

partying with his mates, Anaru didn’t go in to work the next

day, the only time this ever happened. Anaru described what

happened after this incident:

Anaru [Employer] told me I had to come in for a meeting, I said:

“nah don’t worry about it.” So before I got ﬁred, I quit.

Interviewer Did it piss you off?

Anaru That was a mean [good] job.

Interviewer If you had the chance would you go back there?

Anaru Nah I already asked him if I could go there, nah.

Interviewer Would he be prepared to give you a reference so that if

you wanted to you could do that work again?

Anaru Yes I just got to ask him.

Interviewer So do you think one of the things that was hard was that

you were so young and you were thrust into that then

and you know you said that sometimes you had to work

by yourself? Did anyone help you learn work skills and

what it was like?

Anaru Ah yeah.

Interviewer So what would it take for you to stay in a job like that?

Anaru I don’t know just, I don’t know really.

Fearing that he would be ﬁred for missing a day of work,

Anaru quit pre-emptively despite enjoying the work. His story

highlights the need for adaptability in working

with young people, being willing to adjust

expectations to accommodate what

young people are going through. This

story also points to allowing young

people to make mistakes and learn

from them and for employers to

intervene when they sense young

people going through a hard

time, such as Anaru did after

his work mate left. Since Anaru

was so passionate about the

work, his employers could have

capitalised on this by offering

more training or advancement

opportunities. Birdie shares a

different experience; that is, the

positive things that can happen

when young people are well

supported.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 13

BIRDIE’S STORY

In reﬂecting on her work with a practitioner, Birdie shares

how she appreciated the practitioner’s ﬂexible approach to

delivering services:

[…] my probation ofﬁcer, [name of probation ofﬁcer], she’s really

good though she like coz I used to explain to her you can’t put too

many things on me all at once otherwise I won’t do them. I mean I’m

the type of person that has to do one thing at a time. I need to do

this today and do this and complete that and do this and complete

that. I can’t go trying to do all three of them like you know. If I go to

do three courses a week, I can’t do it I won’t make it to all of them, I

will forget about them or I remember ﬁve minutes before and I turn

up half an hour late, failing because you know I haven’t got the right

time efﬁciency or you know whatever. I just coz I can’t have too

many things on otherwise it just goes into the unconsciousness part

of my brain and then it’s like conscious right, right I’m meant to be

doing it.

The practitioner listened and understood when Birdie told

her about her working style and what she needed in order to

be more successful. While her practitioner was motivated to

keep Birdie engaged with courses, she was also adaptable in

her approach and remained committed to ﬁnding workable

solutions. She did not pressure Birdie but rather trusted

her instincts, validated her decisions, and honoured her

autonomy by listening to Birdie’s reﬂections on what worked

for her and how she could be supported to move forward.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 14

RELATIONSHIPS, RESPECT, RECIPROCITY, RELEVANT,

RESPONSIVE

PARTH practices are based on the development of strong,

enduring relationships between young people and

practitioners.

Throughout the research, relationships were highlighted as

one of the most consequential factors to building resilience

and positive engagement while, concurrently, negative

relationships were quite powerful in disengaging young

people and creating barriers to their overall wellbeing and

participation in services. Relationships that were enduring,

positive, encouraging, warm, and empathic were cherished

by the young people (Sanders and Munford, 2016).

Relationships help to shape the narratives young people

construct about their identities. When young people have

strong, supportive relationships, these serve to reinforce and

inﬂuence the development of positive identities as well as

increase self-conﬁdence and self-worth.

Building positive, supportive relationships with young

people afﬁrms their strengths and coping strategies.

Consistent interactions create stability and build strong

relationships.

Employers can take account of the challenges young

people face and promote relationship building and

connect young people to other sectors—including

community organisations, other businesses or partner

organisations, and education (training and skill building

organisations).

The foundation of work with young people involves

relationships that are based on respect and reciprocity.

Relational practices are rooted in an appreciation for the

life of the young person, a whole-person approach.

Employers can promote respectful relationships in the

workplace.

Employers can seek out opportunities for young people

to develop reciprocal relationships with others in the

workplace; for example, mentoring relationships where

young people are mentored, but in turn support other

young people as they enter the workforce.

Employers working with young people can offer relevant

and responsive supervision, training opportunities and

performance standards.

Young people want to be active participants in decision-

making and be part of setting the agenda for employment

plans and activities.

When services are relevant to their needs and goals, as

well as responsive to their priorities, young people are

more engaged. While the relevance of a young person’s

job to their overall career goals or interest may be harder

to align, employers can work to determine what learning

opportunities young people are interested in pursuing.

If resources allow, employers can connect young

people with relevant training or mentorship or refer to

organisations that might be better equipped to work with

the young person.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 15

Connecting young people to other organisations or resources

also allows for employers to demonstrate advocacy and

negotiation on behalf of the young person, which fosters

relationship-building and demonstrates respect. Young people

value practitioners who liaise with other services to better

meet the needs of the young person, including help accessing

transportation, clothing, budget advice, setting up bank

accounts or driver’s license administrative assistance.

Employers can harness the coping capacities of young

people and enhance their support networks to make the

most of the resources available (for example, facilitating

pathways back into education, addressing housing needs,

providing access to material resources).

When it comes to developing relationships, many employers

express that they may not have the time or resources to give

younger employees adequate attention and supervision.

However, because relationships are foundational for helping

young people integrate into the workplace and remain

motivated and engaged, it is important that employers ﬁnd

ways to connect with young people. These can be small acts

such as tea breaks with all employees, awards or recognition,

and other events outside of work. Initial training and induction

processes are also optimal times to start building relationships;

they should not focus solely on job skills but also on

organising mentorship opportunities for young people. The

Attitude Gap Challenge (see Bibliography) cites how marking

key events such as birthdays and achievement awards, build

positive workplace relationships. Taking the time to build

relationships with young people and promote camaraderie

among staff helps create a culture of reciprocity where

employees can support and look out for each other. Having

strong relationships in the workplace also allows for relevant

and responsive supervision and intervention.

REBECCA’S STORY

Rebecca was working her dream job at a child care centre.

However, over time, the job became too stressful and she

eventually quit. While she loved working with children, she

found the rules of the child care centre too strict and intrusive

to her priority of spending one-on-one time with the children.

She was tasked with changing nappies, which often meant she

only spent a few minutes with each child:

It’s obviously all the philosophy is free movement and obviously

based around spending a lot of time with all the children, but it just

doesn’t work that way. It’s as simple as one person calls up sick

and then they’ve got relievers coming in, and you as the primary

care teacher for each child, you’re the only one that is allowed to do

nappies and put them to bed and things like that. So if somebody

was away sick, you ended up with 10, 12 children all to yourself.

You’re the only person that’s allowed to do any of the main care.

Despite feeling over-worked and unable to do her job the

way she preferred, Rebecca stuck it out because she did like

spending time with the children and still felt committed to her

goal of working in a child care centre. However, she started

having issues with other co-workers regarding her course of

study and lack of qualiﬁcations compared to other teachers,

which compounded her stress:

Obviously I’d had a few run-ins with a couple of the girls who

I was working with. It was kind of like a power kind of a battle,

kind of thing. I don’t know, I didn’t understand it. I think because

I didn’t have all these qualications and stuff, they just felt, well,

one person in particular, constantly just telling me exactly how to

do everything from, you know, something as simple as pouring a

bottle, comments would be thrown in there, and like I, you know,

approached her about it, and we kind of sorted it out between

ourselves. But then it just continued going on and on, and I was, I

got to the stage where I was not happy working here. And I went to

the head teacher about it and she was absolutely gutted.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 16

With tension building among her co-workers, Rebecca

decided to quit. She describes this as one of the hardest

decisions she ever had to make because of her career

goals. Her employer tried to persuade Rebecca to stay but,

unfortunately, these efforts were too late. Rebecca’s story

highlights the importance of building relationships in the

workplace rooted in respect and reciprocity. While Rebecca

felt supported by one of her supervisors, she found the other

teachers to be disrespectful and condescending. Her co-

workers didn’t seem to value her contributions or experience

which led to her feeling unwelcome and unhappy. Rebecca’s

conﬂict with her co-workers was an opportunity for her

supervisor to intervene and promote greater teamwork, as

well as recognise Rebecca’s knowledge and value in the

workplace. Employers can also be responsive to tension in

the workplace, addressing it before it builds to the point of

employees leaving. Ari shares a story about the support he

received from his social worker and how this made him feel

that his experiences were respected and valued.

ARI’S STORY

Ari reﬂects on his relationship with his social worker, noting

how it was extremely positive:

Ari I don’t know what it was about her she was a really nice

lady and she’d been through a lot herself from what she

told me, stuff like that and how she was always there for

me. She was just a fun lady really.

Interviewer So she was fun and she could kind of relate to what

you’re going through and she shared with you about her

stuff and was consistent always there and reliable yeah.

Ari And it felt like it wasn’t just a job for her it was something

real.

Interviewer Ah there was something more...

Ari Yeah it felt like she actually cared not just

was doing it for the job and to keep

her job and stuff.

Ari’s practitioner worked to build an

enduring, supportive relationship

with Ari. She genuinely cared

about him and spent time

building a relationship based

on respect and reciprocity.

This in turn led to Ari ﬁnding

support and resources

that were responsive to

his speciﬁc needs and that

enabled him to make plans

and identify short and long-

term goals.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 17

TIME, TRUST, TRANSPARENCY, THRESHOLDS, TRANSITIONS

Time is needed to build trusting, supportive relationships.

Young people speak highly of practitioners who dedicate

time to get to know them. While the quantity and quality

of time spent with young people varies, it is important that

practitioners and employers are open and willing to put in

the time and to give attention to the young person’s needs.

Young people know when practitioners are rushing through

things, are not really dedicated or invested in their work, or

do not genuinely try to get to know or understand the young

person. When practitioners are present and engaged during

interactions, show dedication and commitment to working

with the young person, and demonstrate agility with their

service approach and time commitment, young people are

more likely to be engaged and feel supported.

Since a “one size ﬁts all approach” is not effective in working

with vulnerable young people, practitioners need to be

ﬂexible in terms of how much time they spend with young

people, as well as how they spend their time (for example,

adapting practices and service delivery to best suit the young

person).

The length of meetings, supervision, or interventions with

young people will vary based on their needs. Try not to rush

when working with a young person; they will sense this and

might become disengaged or disinterested as a result.

Planning and reﬂection time with the young person, with

your co-workers, and on your own, can be useful for ensuring

positive encounters with young people. This can also help

to ﬁnd possibilities for critical learning moments for young

people; for example, making the most of the relationship

a young person has established with a more experienced

employee who can provide mentoring and support.

Time also highlights the need for predictability, routine, and

structure. These help create stability for the young person

as well as clariﬁes expectations for their employment.

Trust and transparency are foundational to meaningful

practice with young people. Because vulnerable young

people have experienced challenging, unstable, and

potentially violent relationships with family, community,

and peers, they often have difﬁculty building relationships

and trusting other people. As a result, it may take time for

a young person to build trust with you as their employer.

Spending time with the young person, going out of your way

to help them, keeping structure and routines, are strategies

you can use in the workplace to help build trust and create

a space where the young person feels comfortable and

supported. Connected to trust building is transparency.

It involves taking the time to make sure young people

understand how and why decisions are made as well as

involving them in the decision-making process. Young

people need to be kept informed and included in planning.

Trust can be built through time spent with the young

person during different activities in the workplace;

for example, during training, orientation to the work

environment and working alongside the young person

completing work tasks.

Display conﬁdence in the young person’s capabilities

and give them opportunities to practice their skills and

decision-making. Scepticism and doubt about their

abilities might send the message to the young person

that they are not capable, trustworthy, or worthwhile

contributors to the workplace.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 18

Be open with young people about work expectations

and consequences. If you have to make a hard decision,

show compassion and be up front about the steps you

are taking. If appropriate, work with the young person

to identify areas for improvement or develop strategies

for handling things differently in the future.

Keep young people apprised of changes in the work

environment. Create an inclusive space where they feel

they are part of the team and are acknowledged for

their contributions.

Thresholds correspond to certain conditions that need to be

met or exceeded before an intervention or programmatic

response comes about. Thresholds are important for

identifying points of service intervention or support

for young people. With set entry criteria for services,

practitioners can be looking out for certain behaviours,

events, or experiences that indicate young people need

services. However, this model of setting thresholds for entry

is often seen as limiting and generally reactive rather than

proactive for young people. Early intervention is critically

important for building resilience and facilitating resources

and support before (more) harm is done.

Be vigilant about changes in young people’s behaviour and

offer support or inquire about what might be going on. Do

not expect that young people will always ask for help or

share when they are going through a challenging time; be

proactive in checking in with them. If there are resources

and support networks you can provide or connect the

young person to, do so with their permission.

If your organisation sets performance standards, remain

ﬂexible about what standards you hold the young person to

and how you might intervene if they are under-performing

or not meeting requirements. If you need to create an action

plan for the young person to get back on track, be sure to

involve them in the process. Treat the process as one of

potential for growth rather than retribution and punishment.

Moving into employment is one of the many transitions

for young people and is an important part of their overall

development. Given their challenging circumstances,

vulnerable young people have already experienced

compressed and accelerated transitions before coming

to employment. Compounding all of these changes is the

ﬂuctuating involvement in services. While employment can

be seen as an exciting prospect, it also carries challenges

simply because of it being new for young people and

therefore requiring additional emotional and material

resources and support.

Appreciate that this might be the young person’s ﬁrst work

experience. Show compassion and understanding as they

ﬁgure it out. Perhaps even share your own anecdotes about

starting out in work.

Give young people time and space to ask questions as they

are starting out. Also, give them time and space to stumble.

When this happens, normalise making mistakes but also

celebrate the opportunity for young people to try out new

skills and make decisions in a new environment.

Remind the young person that it is a journey of personal

development and improvement.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 19

If appropriate, pair the young people with a mentor or

work buddy when they are starting out so they can better

acclimatise to the work environment and feel supported by

co-workers.

Since young people often struggle transitioning into

the workplace or maintaining a job, it is important for

employers to spend adequate time inducting them as well as

developing relationships with them. While some employers

struggle to ﬁnd strategies for motivating young people to

remain in the workplace (The Attitude Gap Challenge (see

Bibliography)), ﬁnding ways to do this will have long term

beneﬁts. Spending more time training young people at the

start of employment and being transparent with them about

expectations and employee culture can help build trust and

ensure more stability and comfort during what is already a

transitional period. Although it might feel time-consuming

and daunting for employers to provide emotional support,

this is important for younger employees to feel included,

cared for, and invested in their employment. As a result of

life challenges and exposure to multiple risk factors, it can

be hard for young people to juggle employment with other

obligations. Having additional support from employers, as

well as positive relationships in the workplace, are both

beneﬁcial for young people’s professional development but

also their general wellbeing. These things enable young

workers to contribute fully to their workplaces.

PAETA’S STORY

Paeta had been working for the same company for over a

year, including taking a second job to make extra money.

During this period, she had to move house several times

and was struggling ﬁnancially to make up for the costs of

moving; she mentioned being turned down by landlords

because they thought she was too young to rent even

though Paeta had a stable job and income. She enjoyed her

job and was continuing to take on more responsibility. In

the year since starting, her employer had given her more

administrative duties to take on. Paeta liked learning new

skills and appreciated getting to switch up her standard work

day. When asked about supportive relationships in her life,

she spoke of her employer:

Ah I suppose work’s helped me quite a bit, I’ve been sick over

the last two weeks and my boss knows that I am like nancially

trying to sort everything out with my situation. So he just said

that he would just pay me and I can just work it off wherever I

can. If you like just do a couple of extra hours every week then

that will take care of it. My work’s been like my boss and stuff has

been real good.

Paeta’s experience highlights how trust and transparency can

contribute to stronger relationships in the workplace. Paeta’s

employer knew she was struggling ﬁnancially—that she was

in a transitional period with her living situation—and made

adjustments to support her through the difﬁcult time. Her

employer clearly trusted her to make up the extra hours and

also demonstrated this trust by giving Paeta opportunities

to take on new roles at work. Arona also shared a story of

receiving support from a trusted adult.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 20

ARONA’S STORY

Arona ended up living with her school counsellor when her

home environment became too challenging. She credits her

counsellor, and being able to live with her, for helping her

ﬁnish school:

I was living with my counsellor. I couldn’t have nished school

otherwise. I still keep in contact with her; she still makes the time

for me. It is incredible.

While this is certainly an atypical response and often not

feasible for all practitioners, it nicely illustrates the power of

practitioners in being responsive to young people’s needs

by utilising innovative solutions and resources, maybe

even bending the rules or conventions a little, to help

young people. By going out of her way, and beyond her

professional duty, to help Arona the counsellor reinforced

her commitment to an enduring relationship based on trust.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 21

HONESTY, HUMILITY, HOPEFUL ORIENTATION

Honesty is crucial to building strong relationships with

young people as well as fostering an inclusive workplace.

In the Pathways to Resilience and Youth Transitions studies,

young people spoke of practitioners often letting them

down by making false promises, not being transparent, and

providing conﬂicting information. Whether it was promised

services not being provided, practitioners obscuring

information or not being upfront about what is happening, or

making decisions without them and leaving young people to

deal with the consequences, young people felt betrayed and

discouraged due to these interactions. Young people speak

highly of practitioners who are honest and realistic about

the support and services they can provide, acknowledge

organisational constraints as well as admit when they make

a mistake or overlook something. This honesty contributes to

a sense of security and reliability for young people as well as

fostering respect for the practitioners working with them.

Keep your word, tell young people what you are doing and

what your limitations are.

Keep young people informed of processes, challenges,

and decisions that affect them. When difﬁcult decisions

have to be made, be honest about why this is and

offer support as the young person works through the

decision. Strive to always involve young people in

decision-making processes which strengthens their

autonomy and buy-in.

Humility requires employers to put themselves in young

people’s shoes and acknowledge they might make similar

decisions if they were in similar positions. Connected to the

need to exercise transparency, humility means sharing your

own shortcomings, failures, or past challenges. This not

only serves to humanise you as an employer in a position of

power, it can also offer encouragement to young people to

persevere through hardship.

Acknowledge when you have made a mistake.

Look for opportunities to share your own experiences

that might relate to the young person’s experiences; for

example, talk about your ﬁrst job, the transitions you

experienced, or other relevant life journeys.

Working with vulnerable young people requires a hopeful

orientation and vision for the future. Due to past trauma,

challenges, instability and inconsistency, young people

often feel discouraged about the future. Young people’s past

experiences with things not going well and not receiving

support to manage these challenges, means that they may

feel like giving up when things go wrong. Compounding

the many hardships are counter-productive or unhelpful

participation in services including education. Young people’s

negative interactions with school, employment, child welfare,

youth justice or health services can compromise their hope

for the future and lead to a bleak outlook. In light of these

negative experiences, employers play an important role in

interrupting these grim views of the future.

By holding the young person’s story and their hope,

employers can work to promote promising futures. In fact,

employment can be the place where young people gain the

conﬁdence to talk about their dreams.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 22

Employment can also be where they are supported to work

toward their goals, to access resources, and develop skills to

realise these dreams and goals.

Inspire hope and positivity in young people. Try and ﬁnd

the silver lining and help young people strategise about

how to move forward through hardship.

Celebrate the small victories and do not focus on the

negative. Acknowledge when the young person has

accomplished a task or learned a new skill.

Assure young people that failures and mistakes can be

learned from and moved past; they are not the end of the

world. If something goes wrong, respond with patience

and reassure young people that they have the skills

and knowledge to work through challenges. Seek out

meaningful support and resources that can assist young

people to address these challenges.

Spend time talking about the future with young people—

what are their dreams and aspirations? How can you as an

employer and/or this job help them move toward that? Are

there any resources (for example, material or connections

to other people and organisations) that you can facilitate

access to for the young person?

Employers may feel deﬂated or discouraged about hiring young

people because of prior experiences. They may ﬁnd it more

resource-intensive and logistically challenging to manage young

employees. This may result in employers feeling less motivated

to hire young people in the future. Employers may need support

to maintain a positive orientation to young people (The Attitude

Gap Challenge (see Bibliography)). While young people do

require additional support and supervision, these resources can

have a signiﬁcant positive impact on young people.

When young people feel supported, believed in and

empowered, they are likely to be more engaged and motivated

in services or activities. This investment in young people also

helps instil hope and positivity for the future, especially as it

pertains to their employment prospects.

MASON’S STORY

Mason was working at a fencing company for about a year,

which was very proﬁtable – he was “stockpiling” money as

he says. He really enjoyed the work and seemed excited to be

involved in the business plan with his boss, helping him develop

a new type of fencing:

Interviewer Oh, it’s so cool. Now, the other thing I wanted to ask is

just thinking…say if we banged into each other here

in three or four years’ time, what do you think you’d be

doing? Just if you were still here, or if I banged into you

anywhere. What do you want to be doing?

Mason I don’t know. I’ve got to be honest with you, I haven’t

planned that far ahead. Just having a job at the moment

is going to be enough to solace me. But I put zero thought

into a career or anything like that for the next few years.

I’ve got no future plan. I’m just stockpiling money at the

moment.

According to Mason, he wasn’t thinking about future plans or

career goals, despite being really engaged with his current job.

Stories like these highlight the opportunity to talk with young

employees about their career goals, inquiring about their

dreams, what jobs they enjoy, and what skills they want to learn.

Talking about the future helps instil a hopeful orientation and

shows young people that they are capable and valuable. Matiu’s

experience demonstrates the importance of authentic and

genuine relationships between young people and trusted adults.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 23

MATIU’S STORY

Matiu appreciated how his practitioner shared part of his life

story with him. He felt this helped build rapport and pointed

out similarities in their upbringing:

You know ever since I met [drug and alcohol counsellor], I wanted

to be a Social Worker/Youth Worker yeah.…coz he told me like, he

never passed in school. He never succeeded but he still became

what he wanted to become, ﬁrst he was a Security Guard or

something in the prisons. And then he realised ‘I want to become a

Social Worker’ so he went back to school and studied and showed

me his certiﬁcates and everything. I was like ‘oh man that’s so cool’

and yea ever since then I was like ‘that’s what I want to do’. Yea. He

was just a cool fella. Like he wasn’t trying to get out to me ‘don’t go

to school’ like don’t go to school and you’ll still become one’ but his

story kind of related to mine and you know what we were doing and

whatever.

Because his practitioner was willing to be honest about his

background and shared some of his struggles, he was able to

gain Matiu’s respect. This encouraged Matiu to talk about his

challenges and struggles and to start to think beyond these

and to imagine a more positive future. By demonstrating

honesty and humility in discussing his own background, the

practitioner was not only able to instil hope for the future—

because he was once struggling and living rough—but was

also able to create a safe space for Matiu to ask for help and

share his story.

At the end of this document the ideas discussed here

are translated into action plans for putting PARTH into

employment practices with young people with examples of

ways of doing this in workplaces. Following this is a set of

blank templates for use in your workplace.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 24

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Attitude Gap Challenge:

A South Auckland Employment and Skills Challenge

The Attitude Gap Challenge is a multi-agency co-design

challenge led by the Auckland Co-design Lab (the Lab), a place-

based collaboration between central government and Auckland

Council which is based in South Auckland. The challenge was

designed to test this perceived ‘attitude gap’ between young

people and employers in South Auckland in terms of their

respective knowledge, skills and expectations of one another.

While these challenges are framed in South Auckland, the

insights may have wider applications to other parts of New

Zealand. https://www.aucklandco-lab.nz/attitudegap/

Employment New Zealand

Information to help employers to employ young people and

resources for young people in transition from education into

employment.

https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/

hiring/hiring-young-people/

Food for Thought:

A Youth Perspective on Recovery-oriented Practice

This video illustrates some of the core principles of recovery-

oriented mental health and addiction services. While this video

is not employment-speciﬁc, the video and accompanying

discussion guide pose questions and provide helpful guidelines

for working with young people.

https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/media/3975

Inspiring Communities

Resources on community-led development and working together

in a place to create and achieve locally-owned visions and

goals. Rather than being a model or service, community-led

development is a planning and development approach. The

website (add it here) and regular newsletters provide useful

information on how to connect with communities of support.

http://inspiringcommunities.org.nz/resources/about-cld/

New Zealand Mental Health Foundation

Resources on holistic mental health and wellbeing.

https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/

Pathways to Resilience and Youth Transitions Research

Background on the research studies informing these Guidelines

including publications, PARTH overview and additional

resources. http://www.youthsay.co.nz/

Youth Connections

An Auckland council initiative focused on youth employment.

Find information on JobFest, the Youth Employer Pledge, youth-

speciﬁc resources, and other community projects serving youth.

https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/grants-community-

support-housing/Pages/youth-connections.aspx

Youth Employment Success

Youth Employment Success is Dunedin-based but offers

resources applicable to all businesses and employers looking

to hire young people. They help raise awareness and create

conversations about youth employment and build employer

knowledge and conﬁdence in hiring young people. They offer

resources on career planning, recruitment, and tips on how to

get the best out of youth employees.

https://youthemloyer.nz/resources

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 25

RELEVANT JOURNAL ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Alessi, L, Munford, R., Sanders, J., Johnston, W., Ballantyne,

R. (2018). Young people’s experiences with services.

New Zealand: Resilience and Youth Transitions Research

Programme, Massey University (www.youthsay.co.nz).

Johnston, W., Sanders, J., Munford, R., Alessi, L, Ballantyne,

R. (2018). Precarious Employment Experiences and Uncertain

Futures. New Zealand: Resilience and Youth Transitions

Research Programme, Massey University

(www.youthsay.co.nz)).

Munford, R. & Sanders, J. (2015a). Components of effective

social work practice in mental health for young people who

are users of multiple services. Social Work in Mental Health,

13 (5): 415-438.

Munford, R. & Sanders, J. (2015b). Young people’s search

for agency: Making sense of their experiences and taking

control. Qualitative Social Work, 14 (5): 616-633.

Sanders, J., Munford, R., Liebenberg, L., Ungar, M.,

Thimasarn-Anwar, T., Johnston, W., Youthline New Zealand,

Osborne, A.M., Dewhurst, K., Henaghan, M., Aberdein, J.,

Stevens, K., Urry, Y., Mirﬁn-Veitch, B. & Tikao, K. (2013). The

human face of vulnerability. (Technical Report 3). New

Zealand: Resilience Research Programme, Massey University

(www.youthsay.co.nz)).

Sanders, J. & Munford, R. (2016). Fostering a sense of

belonging at school—ﬁve orientations to practice that assist

vulnerable youth to create a positive student identity. School

Psychology International, 37 (2): 155-171.

Sanders, J., Munford, R. & Liebenberg, L. (2017). Positive

youth development practices and better outcomes for high

risk youth. Child Abuse and Neglect, 69: 201-212.

© Youth Transitions Research Programme, Professor Robyn Munford and Professor Jackie Sanders www.youthsay.co.nz© Youth Transitions Research Programme, Professor Robyn Munford and Professor Jackie Sanders www.youthsay.co.nz

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 26

ACTION PLANS FOR PUTTING PARTH INTO YOUR

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

The following section provides the opportunity for you and your team to

consider how you might already be putting PARTH into practice and what

you can do to better implement the practice orientations outlined in these

Guidelines. Use the following plans as guides and feel free to be creative with

how you apply each principle to your own workplace. For instance, maybe you

have different ideas of what a practice orientation might entail. Capture that

here and map out how you might go about implementing and tracking that

practice. You might choose to work on just one element at a time or you could

select some aspects of each element to focus upon.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 27

GUIDELINE 1 – Employers show passion, perseverance, and persistence, in supporting the young person at their

workplace; they understand the young person’s perspective and are empathetic towards their life experiences.

Questions to

consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

PASSION How can we express

our passion for our

employees?

How can we help

support the passion

of our young

employees?

We talk in staff

meetings about what

we enjoy about our

workplace.

We support young

people to talk about

what motivates them

and encourage them

to talk about their

expectations of the

workplace.

Spend time getting to

know what the young

person’s passions

are. Is there any way

we can tap into their

passions or help them

work toward them?

Learn from youth

organisations about how

they work with young

people.

During employee

orientation/training

and regular check-

ins, be sure to

include some time to

talk about personal

matters, if appropriate.

Include questions in

performance reviews

about how they are

working toward other

goals and how we can

help.

PERSEVERANCE How can we

demonstrate our

commitment to

working with young

people? How can we

better respond to their

needs?

Employees take part

in a two week training

period where they

are paired up with a

mentor. The mentor

checks in with them

at the close of each

shift, or when able, to

see if they have any

questions.

We could set up

mentor partnerships

to extend beyond

the initial two-week

orientation period.

Link the young

person up with

other organisations

or resources that

might help meet

their needs outside

of our capacity;

help facilitate their

wellbeing whenever

possible.

Building relationships

and networks with other

businesses and youth

organisations. This will

help us liaise on the young

person’s behalf.

Start to brainstorm/

develop a more

long-term employee

mentorship programme

by the end of the year.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 28

Questions to

consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

PERSISTENCE How can we

demonstrate

persistence in

supporting our

employees and

making the workplace

as comfortable and

positive as possible?

When employees

start work, we set

a performance

standard/goals. This

is a collaborative

process where the

employee tells us

what they want to

learn or accomplish

and we layout our

own expectations for

them on the job. We

check in on this after

their ﬁrst month, then

again at three and six

months.

We could hold staff

meetings once a

month to discuss what

we are doing well as

a company, what is

holding us back and

where we may not

have persisted with

an issue, and set

goals for us as a team.

We can check in on

these monthly.

We need to get better

about conﬂict resolution

in the workplace. When

concerns are raised with

management, we need to

be more diligent in following

up and handling these

concerns.

Ensure regular check-

ins with employees.

Carry out anonymous

employee satisfaction

surveys where we

ask about what

management is doing

well, how the job could

be more enjoyable or

the workplace more

supportive.

Set a goal of introducing

monthly staff meetings

by the end of the year.

PERSPECTIVE How can we better

integrate the young

person’s perspective,

needs, and strengths

into our work policy

and performance

standards?

We are quite good

at recognising the

cultural diversity in

our workplace and

have regular events

that celebrate this.

Learn about the young

person’s culture

and other values

and beliefs that are

important to them.

Check in with young

people about any

challenges outside

the workplace that

might impact on

them at work: for

example, problems

with transportation or

getting a uniform.

Connect with other

organisations or services

to get transportation

assistance.

Adjust our expectations

and understand that young

people might need more

support in the workplace.

Make better use of

mentoring so that we can

do this but also give young

people opportunities to be

mentors to other young

people as they start work in

our workplace.

Have we provided

opportunities for young

people to share their

views in staff meetings

and in other forums?

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 29

GUIDELINE 2 – Employers and agencies are adaptable and agile in responding to and meeting young people’s needs;

they encourage young people’s exercise and development of agency, and remain action-oriented in terms of ﬁnding solutions,

following through on promises, and offering meaningful support.

Questions to

consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

ADAPTABILITY How can we remain

ﬂexible and open

to accommodating

young people? How/

what can we change

in order to help them

succeed?

We have regularly

scheduled check-ins

with our employees

to see how they are

going.

Ask more targeted

questions during these

check-ins about what

they are struggling with

and what we as an

employer can provide

to better accommodate

them. Recognise that

all young people will

have different needs

and we will do our

best to address them

individually.

Build social networks in

the community in order

to link young people with

other organisations, if

their needs cannot be

met by us.

Pursue training for

management (and other

staff) about how best to

communicate with and

mentor young people.

Employee survey about

work satisfaction and

focus groups to discuss

workplace practices.

AGILITY How can we respond

quickly to young

people’s needs? What

needs to be put in

place so that we are

better able to support

young people?

We have an

Employee Assistance

Programme (EAP)

already established

that offers resources

and outside support to

employees.

Though we have an

EAP, this resource is

not always appropriate

or sufﬁcient for all our

employees. We require

more knowledge of

outside resources so

that we can at least

facilitate our employees

getting connected to the

right people.

Social networking

with resources in the

community.

Develop strategies for

including young people

in decision-making about

work practices.

By the end of year, we

will have created a

section in the Employee

Handbook that includes

community resources.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 30

Questions to

consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

AGENCY How can we provide

young people the

opportunity to make

decisions, test their

skills, and acquire

new knowledge?

We have clearly

established pathways

for employees to

progress or get

promoted.

Don’t always step

in to correct young

people if they are doing

something wrong

(unless dangerous); let

them ﬁgure it out but

be there to talk about it

afterwards.

Ask for young people’s

opinions on projects,

give them space to

be creative and to

contribute in ways that

might not ﬁt into their job

description.

We need to ﬁnd ways to

support young people

in decision-making

processes not only

about their own career

pathways but also about

workplace practices.

We can immediately

start changing our

performance reviews

by asking young people

to set goals and identify

how they want to

be monitored; allow

opportunities for self-

evaluations.

Employee satisfaction

surveys.

ACTION-

ORIENTED

How can we promote

more practical and

solutions-oriented

employment

practices?

We have a clear

process in place for

handling employee

concerns or issues

through our HR

department.

We can tailor this to our

young employees by

being more proactive

rather than reactive--

frequently checking in

with them to see how

they are doing rather

than waiting for them

to come to us with an

issue.

Depending on young

people’s concerns or

needs, we may need to

build relationships with

other organisations in the

community.

We need to give young

people opportunities to

give us regular feedback

in staff meetings. We

will facilitate focus

groups that explore

speciﬁc employment

practices and how well

they are working for

young people.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 31

GUIDELINE 3 – Employers and agencies are committed to building strong, supportive relationships based on respect,

reciprocity; support is relevant and responsive.

Questions to

consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

RELATIONSHIPS How can we

emphasise

relationship-

building in our

workplace and in

our management

practices?

We try to create

strong relationships

among employees

by holding morning

and afternoon teas.

We offer some

social events for

employees to attend.

We could run more social

events and have young

people organise these.

Establish a mentor or

“buddy” system so that new

or younger employees can

pair up with older or more

experienced employees.

Encourage relationship-

building across the

hierarchy of employees;

ﬁnd opportunities for

more interaction among

employees who don’t usually

work with each other.

Training or research

on how to establish an

effective mentorship

programme.

Begin researching the

mentorship programme

(by the end of the year).

Hold a holiday party and

fundraiser dedicated to

a charity that is voted on

by employees.

Run employee surveys

about relationships at

work.

RESPECT How can we better

demonstrate and

encourage respect

for young people?

We actively try

and model respect,

non-judgement and

appreciation for all

employees.

Encourage others to

step-in when they see or

hear hurtful, disrespectful

behaviour towards

employees or customers.

Training on conﬂict

resolution.

Hold diversity training

for employees.

Bring in other

organisations who

facilitate employment

practices that promote

diversity in the

workplace.

Plan conﬂict resolution

and diversity training for

employees at next year’s

companywide meeting.

Write an article in our

workplace newsletter

on diversity training

and programmes. Seek

out the views of young

people and include these

in the article.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 32

Questions to

consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

RECIPROCITY How can we ensure

that our young

employees feel that

their efforts and

contributions are

acknowledged and

appreciated?

Regular

performance

reviews where we

share what the

employee is doing

well, their strengths

and areas of

improvement.

As part of the yearly review

process, we can ask other

employees to contribute

positive testimonials for the

young person’s work.

Encourage positive

reinforcement, gratitude and

praise among employees.

Support the

development of

mentoring relationships

including supporting

young people to mentor

other young people

as they enter the

workforce.

In staff meetings we will

provide an opportunity

for young people to share

their stories of mentoring

and monitor how this is

working for young people

and their co-workers.

RELEVANT How can we make

work and the

requirements set

for young people

more relevant to

their goals and

dreams?

In meeting with their

team leader young

people are asked for

their feedback on

their work including

opportunities for

skill development

and how well they

are being supported

in learning new

skills and managing

their workload.

Ask young employees

what particular part of the

job they are interested in,

if they have any career

goals or skills they want to

develop. Connect them with

opportunities to explore

these including with other

organisations or educational

resources.

Social networking

so that we remain

connected to

community resources

that are relevant

for supporting the

young people in our

workplace.

Employee satisfaction

surveys and focus

groups on speciﬁc

topics.

RESPONSIVE How can we best

respond to the

needs and goals of

young people in the

workplace?

We have an

Employee

Assistance Program

and accessible

HR department to

handle any disputes

or questions.

We need to be more

proactive in reaching out

to young people to offer

assistance and support. This

could be done by a mentor or

at regular check-ins with the

young person.

We will not always

have the resources to

help the young person.

We can develop other

community connections

to help facilitate

meeting their needs.

Develop a list of outside

resources for employees

and include these in the

Employee Handbook.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 33

GUIDELINE 4 – Employers and agencies dedicate time to working with young people, including building trust,

demonstrating transparency in communication, adapting thresholds to best serve them, and being thoughtful about

transitions in young people’s lives.

Questions to consider What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

TIME How can we spend

more time with young

people understanding

and supporting them?

How can we optimise

the time we already

spend with young

people?

For new employees,

we provide a 3-hour

orientation training,

usually done in a

group.

We can allow for 1-on-

1 time so that we can

get to know our young

employees, ﬁguring out

what they enjoy, what

they hope to get out of

work, what challenges

they might be

experiencing that may

impact on their work

(for example, lack of

transportation, having

to care for siblings or

grandparents).

Training on how to

optimise supervision

time with employees;

how to better supervise

and support teams of

employees.

By the end of the

year, have a list of

training opportunities

or resources for better

supervision.

Run a focus group that

canvasses employees’

feedback on supervision

processes and how we

support new employees.

TRUST How can we build and

show more respect

toward young people?

How can we gain their

trust?

We model and

acknowledge good

behaviour toward

others.

We could give young

employees more

opportunities to shine

and demonstrate to

their co-workers what

they know and bring to

the workplace.

We need to provide

opportunities for

young people to share

what makes a positive

difference for them

in the workplace and

generates trust in their

employers.

Provide opportunities

in staff meetings for

workers to share their

feedback on both the

positive aspects of the

workplace and also the

factors that are barriers

to creating a positive

work environment.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 34

Questions to consider What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

TRANSPARENCY How can we be

more open with

young people and

work to ensure they

understand the

decisions being made

in the workplace?

We send out an end-

of-year report to all

employees detailing

business achievements

and other high-level

changes, as well as

decisions, initiatives,

and policies that relate

to them and their areas

of work.

We could hold more

regular staff meetings

to talk about business

operations and any

changes taking place.

Offer opportunities

for young employees

to get involved in

planning – either on

work projects, policies

or social events.

Training on how to

develop a young

leaders’ programme

or some equivalent

where young employees

are given leadership

opportunities and are

involved in decisions on

employment practices.

Employee satisfaction

survey – questions about

how involved young

people feel in decision-

making; how informed

they are about company

policies and news.

THRESHOLDS How can we apply

or adapt thresholds

for intervening with

and supporting our

employees?

We have performance

reviews and action

plans for when an

employee is under-

performing.

We could be more

proactive in supporting

young people before

they might meet the

criteria for under-

performance; more

frequent check-ins

with young employees.

Remain ﬂexible

with performance

standards and action/

correction plans.

Training on how to

develop meaningful

action/correction plans

with employees.

Develop better

relationships with

community resources

so that we can provide

opportunities for young

people to receive

meaningful support.

We need to hold

meetings with young

people that give them an

opportunity to provide

feedback on the support

they are receiving from

their employers. Young

people could run these

meetings.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 35

Questions to consider What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

TRANSITIONS How can we be

more considerate

of the transitions

young people have

and are currently

experiencing? What

role does employment

play in their

transitions?

We work closely with

a skills development

programme.

Spend more time

getting to know the

young person and

what else is going on

in their life outside

of work. Consider

how work might be

impacting on the rest

of their life and what

we can do to better

support them.

Since many young

people might be working

with us as their ﬁrst job,

pursue training on how

to work with employees

on their ﬁrst job –

special considerations

and supervisory needs.

We can work more

closely with the skills

development programme

to achieve this.

Start researching

training or resources

by the end of the year.

We could do this in

conjunction with the

skills development

programme and ask

them to be involved

in monitoring and

evaluating our progress.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 36

GUIDELINE 5 – Employers and agencies demonstrate honesty, humility, and a hopeful orientation.

Questions

to consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

HONESTY How can we show

more follow-through

on what we say

we will do? How

can we be more

upfront about our

limitations?

We encourage our

team leaders to be

honest with young

people and to keep

them informed of new

developments in the

workplace.

We encourage our

employees not to

over-commit and to

tell their team leader

about the challenges

they may be facing

at work and outside

work that impact on

them while at work.

We talk to them about

managing their time

between work and

outside activities.

We can do a better job

keeping young people

informed of processes and

decisions that affect them.

When working to help

young people with

challenges outside of work

(for example, connecting

them to mental health

or other community

resources), we must be

open about our capacity to

help and what role we can

play.

We could do better

at ensuring that all of

our team leaders are

supported to work well

with young people.

We need to ensure that

we have regular forums

for young people to

provide feedback on

employment practices.

These could be both

formal meetings and

social gatherings that

support young people

to feel more included in

their workplace.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 37

Questions

to consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

HUMILITY How can we better

acknowledge when

we have made

mistakes?

We try to remain light-

hearted and positive

at work, especially

when something

unexpected happens

or someone makes

a mistake. We share

stories about our

mistakes and how we

overcame these.

Especially for managers,

it is important that we

encourage employees to

acknowledge when they

have made a mistake and/

or ask for help when they

are unsure of what they

are doing and we need to

respond in a positive and

proactive manner when

they do.

Find resources on how

to create an inclusive,

open workplace

where employees feel

comfortable asking for

help and support.

We need to enable

young people to help

other employees learn

about what is important

to them. Young people

could facilitate staff

meetings and training

opportunities that enable

other employees to learn

about the everyday lives

of young people.

Employee satisfaction

survey – questions

about how comfortable

they are asking for help

and with workplace

practices.

HOPEFUL

ORIENTATION

How can we inspire

more hope for the

future? How can we

better acknowledge

the hopes and

dreams of young

people and support

them to come to

fruition?

We try and inspire

commitment and

dedication in our

employees by making

clear the potential for

advancement for them

at the company.

We can spend more time

with young employees to

learn about their hopes

for the future and how

we might be able to

help facilitate these (for

example, through providing

resources). We can show

support and enthusiasm

for young people working

toward their goals and, in

general, holding hope for

their future.

Build social networks

in the community to

connect young people

with others who might

help facilitate their

dreams and goals.

Provide opportunities for

young people to learn

new skills and take on

leadership roles in the

workplace.

By end of year,

create a Resources

section or Tool Guide

to accompany the

Employee Handbook

Provide opportunities

for young people to

share their workplace

experiences including

how these have given

them more conﬁdence

and helped them work

towards their life goals.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 38

PUTTING PARTH INTO YOUR EMPLOYMENT

PRACTICES WITH YOUNG PEOPLE

The following template provides the opportunity for you and

your team to consider how you might already be putting

PARTH into practice and what you can do to better implement

the practice orientations outlined in these Guidelines. Use the

following plans as guides and feel free to be creative with how

you apply each principle to your own workplace. For instance,

maybe you have different ideas of what a practice orientation

might entail. Capture that here and map out how you might

go about implementing and tracking that practice. You might

choose to work on just one element at a time or you could

select some aspects of each element to focus upon.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 39

Guideline 1 – Employers show passion, perseverance, and persistence, in supporting the young person at their workplace; they

understand the young person’s perspective and are empathetic towards their life experiences.

Questions

to consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

PASSION

PERSEVERANCE

PERSISTENCE

PERSPECTIVE

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 40

Guideline 2 – Employers and agencies are adaptable and agile in responding to and meeting young people’s needs; they

encourage young people’s exercise and development of agency, and remain action-oriented in terms of ﬁnding solutions,

following through on promises, and offering meaningful support.

Questions

to consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

ADAPTABILITY

AGILITY

AGENCY

ACTION-ORIENTED

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 41

Guideline 3 – Employers and agencies are committed to building strong, supportive relationships based on respect,

reciprocity; support is relevant and responsive.

Questions

to consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

RELATIONSHIPS

RESPECT

RECIPROCITY

RELEVANT

RESPONSIVE

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 42

Guideline 4 – Employers and agencies dedicate time to working with young people, including building trust, demonstrating

transparency in communication, adapting thresholds to best serve them, and being thoughtful about transitions in young people’s

lives.

Questions

to consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

TIME

TRUST

TRANSPARENCY

THRESHOLDS

TRANSITIONS

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 43

Guideline 5 – Employers and agencies demonstrate honesty, humility, and a hopeful orientation.

Questions

to consider

What we are

already doing?

What we

can do better?

Areas of opportunity,

training?

How can we track

our progress?

HONESTY

HUMILITY

HOPEFUL

ORIENTATION

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 44

CONTACT

Pathways to Resilience and

Youth Transitions Projects

r.munford@massey.ac.nz

j.sanders@massey.ac.nz

www.youthsay.co.nz

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYERS: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE INTO EMPLOYMENT 45

Magic People: Technical Report 31

Technical Report

Full-text available

Nov 2018

This is a report from the Youth Transitions research programme.

Precarious Employment Experiences and Uncertain Futures: Technical Report 28

Technical Report

Full-text available

May 2018

This document reports on findings from the Youth Transitions study.

Young People's Experiences with Services: Technical Report 27

Technical Report

Full-text available

Jun 2018

This technical report explores the findings from a longitudinal study on young people's transitions. Its focus is on young people's experiences with services.

Young People's Search for Agency: Making Sense of their Experiences and Taking Control.

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2014

This article draws on the findings of the qualitative phase of a New Zealand longitudinal study on vulnerable young people’s transitions to adulthood. The young people were aged between 12 and 17 years at the time of the first interview. The paper focuses on one key finding, how youth enact agency through their relationships with significant others: families, social workers, teachers and care workers. These youth had experienced sustained exposure to harm including abuse, violence, addictions, disengagement from school and mental health issues. The qualitative interviews focused on young people’s experiences with services (child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health and education support services) their key transitions, and the strategies they used to locate support and resources. The thematic analysis of the interviews indicated that a search for agency was a central motif in young people’s experiences. This was reflected in three thematic clusters: making sense of the world, having a voice and acting on the world.

Positive youth development practices and better outcomes for high risk youth

Article

Jul 2017
CHILD ABUSE NEGLECT

This paper reports on the findings from a New Zealand longitudinal study of outcomes for a group of high risk, service-using youth (13–21 years, n = 495). Consistent use of positive youth development practices (PYD) (rather than the total number of services used) predicted better outcomes. Patterns of risk and resilience endured over time. Individual risks undermined outcomes while resilience had a significant positive impact on outcomes. Contextual risks predicted increases in individual risks, but service delivery that adopted PYD practices contributed to reductions in levels of contextual risks over time. Youth with higher individual and contextual risks were less likely to report PYD service experiences. Individual risks were highest for indigenous youth (Māori) at entry to the study, levels which dropped significantly over time. White (Pākehā) youth had the lowest resilience and highest contextual risks over the course of the study. These differential patterns in risks and resilience indicate a need for services to adapt their responses to youth based on ethnicity and overall study findings confirm that when used consistently across service systems PYD-oriented service delivery produces better outcomes for high risk youth.

Fostering a sense of belonging at school--five orientations to practice that assist vulnerable youth to create a positive student identity

Article

Dec 2015

Drawing on data from a mixed-method longitudinal study of marginalized youth from New Zealand, most of whom did not complete high school, we explore the concept of a sense of belonging as it relates to the way these youth explain their experiences of school. We identify the centrality of this sense of belonging at school to an understanding of resilience for vulnerable youth. Based on youth accounts we identify five orientations to practice that made the most difference to youth capacity to stay at school. These orientations are able to be used by a wide range of school professionals, including school psychologists, to enable youth to successfully stay in mainstream educational settings and achieve to their abilities.

Components of Effective Social Work Practice in Mental Health for Young People who are Users of Multiple Services

Article

Nov 2014

This article reports on findings from a mixed-methods New Zealand study of young people’s experience of service use. It focuses on young people’s experiences with mental health services. The youth (aged 13 to 17) were multiple users of statutory and non-governmental services: mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and remedial education. The research explored their life experiences including exposure to harmful events and environments (such as abuse and neglect, violence, and substance abuse) and of particular interest was how services contributed to better outcomes for this vulnerable group of young people. This article explores the components of mental health services that contribute to effective practice. It underlines the key role for services in supporting young people to seek out resources that have the potential to enhance their health and wellbeing.

The human face of vulnerability

Jan 2013

J Sanders
R Munford
L Liebenberg
M Ungar
T Thimasarn-Anwar
W Johnston
Youthline New Zealand
A M Osborne
K Dewhurst
M Henaghan
J Aberdein
K Stevens
Y Urry
B Mirfin-Veitch
K Tikao

Sanders, J., Munford, R., Liebenberg, L., Ungar, M., Thimasarn-Anwar, T., Johnston, W., Youthline New Zealand, Osborne, A.M., Dewhurst, K., Henaghan, M., Aberdein, J., Stevens, K., Urry, Y., Mirfin-Veitch, B. & Tikao, K. (2013). The human face of vulnerability. (Technical Report 3). New Zealand: Resilience Research Programme, Massey University (www.youthsay.co.nz)).

Guidelines for Employers: Supporting Young People into Employment

Abstract

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