Strong Voices

Young Whangārei school-leaver Aston Donker was clear about one thing when he turned up to the new Āhei work experience programme earlier this year. He didn’t want a job involving customers.

“We find that most of our interns come in without a clear idea of what they want to do,” says Āhei Programme Coordinator Kris Finlayson. Aston knew what he didn’t want. “He knew that he didn’t want to do customer services – this changed quickly. We put him in a place where we knew he would be well supported.

“I know he won’t mind me saying this,” Kris says. “He is autistic and so there’s an anxiety around social interaction.”

This is something Kris understands well. Kris is autistic too and left school after failing all but one of his exams. He is now completing his PhD.

Kris says school doesn’t suit every student, not because of their ability but because they can’t succeed in the system. “I see myself in some of them. I know that it’s not the individual’s fault,” he says.

“The majority of our students have been absent from school, for years in some cases.” He says one student was enrolled at school but hadn’t attended for four years because of anxiety. “It was the school that sent his application through.”

Kris says interns tend to be mostly 16 or 17 years of age. “The majority of them are on the spectrum – ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder], FASD [foetal alcohol spectrum disorder], Down syndrome, dyslexia or a learning disability.”

Āhei provides work experience for tangata whaikaha (people with disabilities) aged 16–24 years, through a combination of structured workshops and learning and support on the job. Āhei is delivered by Whangārei disability service provider Northable and has been funded for two years by the Ministry of Social Development through He Poutama Rangatahi, a Work and Income work-readiness and skills initiative.

The young people start their six- month internship with a three-week block course to get work ready. After that is a work placement with a host employer, with Āhei mentoring the interns throughout the placement. At the end of the six-month placements, Āhei helps the interns to find paid work. There are seven or eight interns in each intake.

“The programme is very, very individualised. What the intern needs to succeed, we provide,” Kris says.

Aston was in the first intake of the Āhei Internship Programme, in April 2023, and is regarded by Kris as one of their first successes.

“My Mum saw the Āhei Internship Programme thing on Facebook. She signed me up to the programme,” Aston says. “When I got there, we were treated to a nice kai then we got stuck into work.

“They ended up placing me in the Northable Equipment Plus store. I would take phone calls, help people find products, stocktake, restocking the shop floor, basic cleaning – like vacuuming and dusting – handling money. At the end I was opening and closing the till.”

Aston took it in his stride. “I was neutral – let’s see how it is. I wasn’t excited, but I wasn’t worried either. I think it’s just one of my characteristics.”

At the end of his internship, Aston was employed by PAK’nSAVE, where he collects trolleys and picks up rubbish for two days a week. He has been offered more hours but has declined them. Instead, he is looking for other options on job sites Seek and Trade Me and knows he can contact Āhei for help with a CV and interview role play.

“Mainstream school didn’t suit me well at all,” Aston says. “I have a whole team supporting me in this that I can reach out to, whereas a teacher in class they get busy and have to talk to another student. If I raise something I am not happy with, I feel like Āhei would really listen to me.”

Kris says Āhei supports graduates in their job search for a year, or longer if necessary. He says Aston is interested in working with numbers and his future may involve some further study.

One of the employers working with Āhei is CityCare Property in Whangārei, a company maintaining parks, gardens and facilities for Whangarei District Council. CityCare took on its first intern this year.

Horticulture Team Supervisor Cory Fernmoor says Angus Dunn started at a busy time as spring growth was kicking in – although, Cory says, things never really stop growing in Northland. “It’s like living in a giant greenhouse up here.”

Angus had helped family members with their gardens but working with a crew planting 20,000 bedding plants in time for summer was a huge challenge.

Angus started by working with various crews for a week each before finally settling on working on Wednesdays with the horticulture team and Thursdays on facility maintenance or weed control. His internship ran through until the end of January.

“He absolutely loved it, and he was always positive,” Cory says. “It was a great opportunity for Angus, but it was a good opportunity for my staff, because many of them had not worked in a diverse workplace.”

Āhei Programme Coordinator Kris is keen to find more opportunities for more young people. Kris went through school before NCEA. “For School Certificate I only just passed science and failed everything else and just left. The only goal I had was to go to university and to travel.”

While he waited until he turned 20 – the age you can go to university without entrance qualifications – he made the most of his time. “I travelled to Europe. I travelled to China and taught English. I got a commercial pilot’s licence.”

Kris then started studying development studies and law at Victoria University of Wellington before switching to anthropology and French. He is now finalising his PhD thesis in the field of identity studies.

The fourth cohort of Āhei interns starts in February and Kris is thrilled at the difference it is making. “These are great kids who just need opportunities.”

Caption: Aston Donker and Northable Equipment Plus manager Zelde Morrison-Smith.

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