Changes to the Ministry of Youth Development

The Government has proposed a new direction and priorities for it’s role in youth development. The aim is for all young people in New Zealand to participate in a youth development opportunity.

Youth development opportunities, such as leadership, volunteering and mentoring experiences, build the strength and resilience of young people. They enable young people to positively participate in and contribute to their communities, and to become strong, confident, and more self-sufficient. With our knowledge of youth development principles, MYD has an important role in facilitating these outcomes. 

The priorities for Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) will be:

• growing the number of opportunities for youth development, including those that provide leadership, volunteering and mentoring experiences
• increasing the proportion of opportunities for disadvantaged youth
• working in partnership with business and philanthropic organisations to jointly invest in shared outcomes
• building recognition of young people’s community and voluntary contributions  by having a way that this work can be registered and valued
• aligning youth development funding with the Community Investment strategy

Changes to the Ministry of Youth Development

The Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) will partner with others to generate, fund and promote youth development opportunities for all youth in New Zealand. 

To deliver on the new direction and priorities, some changes will be made to MYD. Following a consultation with MYD staff, the following changes will come into effect from April 2016:

• MYD will be located in Wellington within the Community Investment Group of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD)
• The Ministry will be led by a Director, reporting to the Deputy Chief Executive, Community Investment
• There will be a total of 17 positions, ten in the Ministry of Youth Development, and a further seven within the Community Investment Group. Three positions will provide contract management support and four regionally based Community Investment Advisors with a focus on youth will provide on-the-ground support to deliver the new direction
• The Youth Policy teams will remain in the Social Policy group within MSD, but will report to the GM, Child, Family & Community from 5 January 2016.

You can read more about this here

What will the new direction mean for the youth voice?

We are committed to ensuring that the implementation of the new direction and priorities for MYD is successful, and that the transition for our staff and for providers is well managed.

One of the questions that we are yet to address is how young people will continue to be involved in policy development and the work of MYD. As we move to implement the new functions and structure for MYD, we will also look at what other changes are needed to support the new direction. How young people are involved in policy development and the work of MYD will need to be worked through to align MYD to its new direction and priorities. By March 2016 we will be keen to engage with youth on what mechanisms are best to ensure an effective youth voice in the future work of the Ministry.  

In the meantime if you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with us at Partnering_for_YD@msd.govt.nz

Thank you for your passion and ongoing commitment to youth development, and best wishes for the upcoming summer break.

Regards,

Nic Blakeley                                                    Murray Edridge

Deputy Chief Executive, Social Policy             Deputy Chief Executive, Community Investment