Thanks to drive from Christian Camping NZ, Tuesday this week saw eight youth organisations meet and discuss collaboration and strategic direction of their piece of the sector. Five support bodies and agencies were also present to listen and respond to their challenges and successes.

Many topics were discussed and fleshed out from training needs to organisational reviews and online platforms that could possibly be shared to spread learnings and financial costs.

Jane Zintl from Ara Taiohi updated the group on an upcoming literature review. The review conducted by Auckland University is of Youth Development over the last decade and a half which will help inform strategy going forward. A piece of work that will be of value to the sector and we look forward to sharing when its ready.

Ben Corcoran of Skills Active lead an urgent and important discussion around the Review of Vocational Education which will have further detail in this newsletter. Important though to note the concern around possible training level suggested for industry to pay per apprentice / trainee. While primary industries or other sector may be able to foot that bill, can the outdoor education and youth development sector including schools and parents really carry another cost in an already stringently thin budget. Until the review is complete, we really don't know what the future looks like. Use your voice to ensure our sector retains its representation at tertiary training level.

William Pike, Duke of Edinburgh, Christian Camping, Girl Guides, Girls Brigade, YMCA, Scouts and Boys Brigade all shared thoughts and insights into services and resources they have found useful and showed very strong intention to share these and support innovative cost saving and efficient tools to sustain this part of the sector.

Future direction of this interest group is considered as follows:

• Interest group commonalities: young people, residential sites, volunteer based, active recreation, non for profit (social enterprise), direct service delivery, national viewpoint significance, youth development, funding streams.
• Meet up 3 times a year
• Include wider group, formulate a management group, agenda formulation (mix of external expertise, internal organisational update), key themes going forward for each meeting (with external expert)
• Build profile together

If this sounds like a bit of your organisation, please send expression of interest (simple email is fine) to fiona@nzrecreation.org.nz