A new youth programme being introduced to the Coromandel is aiming to encourage young people to volunteer for emergency services.

This week Minister for Youth Nikki Kaye introduced the Youth in Emergency Services programme which will operate on the Coromandel during the month of June.

Youth in Emergency Services trainees from Kaikohe carrying out an exercise last June involving a downed plane, patients trapped in a car, a missing person and a wildfire. Photo: Peter de Graaf

Thames-Coromandel District Council's community development officer Marlene Perry says they are now looking for 16 young people between the ages of 16 and 21 to participate in the programme.

'The programme is designed to strengthen and encourage young people's connection to their community,” explains Marlene, 'by encouraging them to engage with a range of volunteer emergency services by way of a hands-on introduction to the work of these services.”

The YES programme is run collaboratively with the Volunteer Fire Services, St John, Land Search and Rescue, Thames Valley Civil Defence, council and local community-based volunteer emergency service partners.

It is delivered in two parts: a theory component to learn about the equipment, and a practical component where participants then use the equipment.

Guiding and teaching young people along the way will be four emergency services: St John, NZ Fire Service, LandSAR and Civil Defence.

Each service will hold sessions in Thames on a Thursday night to learn about what the service does, followed up by a Sunday session to then use those skills they learned.

The final Sunday will be a combined exercise with a ‘real life' emergency scenario, followed by a graduation ceremony for the youth. Friends and family are welcome to attend the graduation.

TCDC chief executive David Hammond says the Coromandel loses many of its youth to cities, resulting in a low number of young volunteers in the district's emergency services.

'We have been given this amazing opportunity by the Youth Minister and I have no doubt that we will succeed in filling all 16 positions and see more young people take the opportunity to volunteer after they have completed the YES programme.”

The YES programme has been successfully delivered in Kaikohe, Gisborne, Rotorua, Mangakino/Turangi, Kaikoura and Alexandra in 2013-2014.

To take part in the YES project download and complete a nomination form from here.

Nominations must be returned to the Thames-Coromandel District Council, 515 Mackay Street, Thames, by Friday, May 22, before 5pm. Please label "Attention Mylise Hartley".