A few weeks ago I attended the Combined sectors meeting in Wellington. This involved the Metro, regional and rural and provincial councils and was the first time that all three sectors had met like this.

We spent the first day as a combined group and the second day split into rural and provincial. The first session started with a poll, asking us what our biggest concerns were. Roading and funding were the top two, especially from those who had experienced the natural disasters earlier this year.

There were several speakers over a range of topics. One of the most interesting speakers I found was Aimee Blake, co-chair of Future Farmers NZ.

We also heard from three MPs - Nicola Willis deputy leader of the opposition, Kieran McAnulty minister of local government and Eugenie Sage, spokesperson for local government for the Green party.

Their key message was collaboration and more opportunities of central and local government working together.

The minister said one of the best examples of working together is with the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) scheme. With central government providing the funding and local government being entrusted with getting the job done, there has been some real successes.

Our Council has recently joined the MTFJ rural community resilience programme in getting young people into employment.  We have been very successful in the pilot scheme and are well on the way to meeting our target to place 12 young people into jobs.

As part of our commitment to the programme, I am also on the MTFJ national governance group.

I was lucky to join 16 students from our three high schools while they were on a forklift training course. This is one of the many courses being offered to our young people through MTFJ.

Also included in MTFJ is the Tuia programme, and we heard from our Tuia representative at Council about the two wānanga she has attended. This is a brilliant opportunity for our rangatahi and we will be on the lookout for next year’s Tuia representative in the new year.

MTFJ also supports Outward Bound courses for young people, and the industry training graduations.

Having teenagers myself, both in their last few years of high school, it is great to know Council can help provide a service to get our youth into employment, help with driver licensing, first aid courses and, of course, mentor and support them.

To keep our district vibrant, we need to encourage our youth to stay and work in the district or to return after their studies … and be a welcoming community for them to stay here.