A youth employment programme run by Katikati Community Centre will close at the end of this month after not securing a new contract from the Ministry of Social Development.

Katikati’s Poutama – Pathway Into Employment programme had run this year at a new base upstairs in the Katikati Christian Centre on Henry Rd.

The 10- to 12-week programme took on cohorts of 10 young people aged 15-24 residing from Waihī to Ōmokoroa to support them into education, training or work through instinctive mentoring, team-building and personalised coaching.

The programme was run by Katikati Community Centre general manager Nicky Austin, tutor Shaun Tata, youth employment coach Sjaan Rounds and chef, kaiawhina (supporter) and kaumātua (respected elder) Piripi Pareana.

Poutama’s first cohort for 2026. Photo / Supplied

The centre announced last Friday that Poutama would end on June 30 following the ministry’s decision not to award the organisation a new contract to continue delivering the programme beyond the current contract term.

Confident, not guaranteed

Austin told Katikati News earlier this year she was busy creating a proposal for a new contract with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD).

“But it’s going out to open market; I feel confident but it’s definitely not guaranteed.”

The next contract would have been three years in length with a two-year renewal, which would have kept Poutama running for five years, Austin said in February.

Piripi Paraeana and Nicky Austin were two of four staff working on Poutama - Pathway Into Employment to change the trajectory of local youth. Photo / Merle Cave

“While this is a disappointing outcome for our organisation and community, our focus remains on celebrating the incredible achievements of the young people, staff and community partners who have contributed to the programme’s success over the past four years,” Austin said.

Since commencing in 2022, Poutama had supported 209 rangatahi (youth) from Katikati, Waihī, Waihī Beach, Ōmokoroa and surrounding communities, Austin said.

“Through education, mentoring, life skills development, work readiness training and supported work experience, the programme has helped 158 young people successfully transition into employment, further education or training.”

Behind the numbers

However, Austin said those numbers only told part of the story.

“Behind every statistic is a young person who chose to take a chance on themselves, often overcoming significant personal challenges, building confidence, developing new skills, and taking positive steps toward a brighter future.

“Naturally, we are disappointed that we were not successful in securing a new contract to continue delivering this programme,” Austin said.

“However, our overwhelming feeling is one of pride – pride in our rangatahi, pride in our staff, and pride in what this community has achieved together over the past four years.”

Austin said she wanted to acknowledge the exceptional staff who had delivered the programme with passion, professionalism and unwavering belief in the potential of every young person.

“Our staff have consistently gone above and beyond for the young people they supported.

“Their commitment, empathy, expertise and willingness to walk alongside rangatahi [youth] through both successes and setbacks has been extraordinary.

“We are deeply grateful for their contribution and saddened that we will be losing such talented, experienced and dedicated people from our team.”

Strong partnerships

Austin said Poutama’s success had been built on strong partnerships throughout the community.

“The Katikati Community Centre extends its sincere thanks to the many employers, schools, training providers, community organisations and supporters who have worked alongside us over the past four years.

“In particular, we wish to acknowledge Apata, whose ongoing commitment to providing paid work experience placements for every cohort has given our young participants valuable exposure to the workplace and the confidence that comes from earning their first pay packet.

“We also thank the many local employers who opened their doors to our rangatahi, offering work experience opportunities, employment pathways, mentoring and encouragement.

“Your willingness to invest in young people has made a lasting difference.

“Our gratitude also extends to the schools, whānau, community organisations and referral agencies that entrusted us with supporting their young people and worked collaboratively to help them succeed.”

Impact will continue

Finally, Austin thanked MSD for the opportunity to deliver the programme over the past four years.

“Through this partnership, rangatahi have been able to access support, training, work experience and pathways into employment and further education.

“Although the programme is coming to an end, the impact of Poutama will continue through the young people whose lives have been changed, the skills they have developed and the futures they are now building for themselves.”

She said the Katikati Community Centre remained committed to supporting the community and would continue to explore opportunities to strengthen outcomes for local youth in the future.

The ministry responds

MSD regional commissioner for the Bay of Plenty, Jacob Davies, said the ministry would continue to deliver employment programmes for young people in the Western Bay of Plenty region and remain committed helping them take their next steps toward work.

“As with all government services, MSD contracts are regularly retendered in line with the All-of-Government Procurement Rules.

“We ran a thorough procurement process for He Poutama Rangatahi [HPR] for youth employment programmes throughout New Zealand.

“The programme is targeted to support communities working with rangatahi aged 15-24 who are not in employment, education or training.”

Davies said the ministry received a large number of responses to the open tender, with many high-quality proposals submitted. Applications were assessed by an independent regional panel, he said.

“While unfortunately the Katikati Community Centre Charitable Trust Board was not successful, we are currently in negotiations with preferred providers in the Bay of Plenty region to continue delivering these services.

“We acknowledge this is disappointing for the trust. A list of successful contracted providers will be made public as contracts are finalised.

“We will be working to transition any existing clients to the new providers as required.”

Davies said aside from HPR, the ministry continued to offer a wide range of employment and training services across the Western BOP, including work preparation services and skills for industry programmes.

“This includes Community Job Coaching, which was a Budget 2025 initiative to deliver coaching for 18- to 24-year-olds to help them transition into long-term employment. In the Western Bay of Plenty this service is provided by EmployNZ, who also provide employment placement services,” Davies said.