Tātaki Auckland Unlimited
In 2022, ThinkPlace supported Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) to collaborate with major stakeholders of youth employment in Tāmaki Makaurau to develop a roadmap for change. The ultimate goal of this roadmap was to equip employers with a practical and accessible resource that enables them to create workplaces where all young people can thrive.
The Context
How can businesses become better employers of young people?
In 2022 the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 19 in Aotearoa was currently 22.3%. There was a need to bridge the gap between expectations of employers and the experiences of young people. There was also the need to foster a more inclusive and supportive employment environment for young people, particularly for Māori and Pacific youth.
The Project
ThinkPlace and TAU ran a series of co-design workshops and engagements with sector leaders and experts to develop a shared current state picture and envisage the first roadmap. This roadmap was further developed and visualised by ThinkPlace and TAU and tested back with stakeholders. The roadmap development was grounded in complex systems thinking approaches with a focus on mapping the key agents in the youth employment system and understanding key system blockers, enablers and root causes for these.
The impact
Bringing the system together in this way supported ongoing connection and collaboration within the sector, sparking much needed problem-solving and goal-setting discussions. ThinkPlace was involved in future phases of this mahi – where alongside key stakeholders there was further work to define what a good youth employer looked like and how this related to the Youth Employer Pledge.
“As a small team at TAU, collaboration with system partners and ThinkPlace gave us strength and boosted our confidence in the implementation of the road map.”
-TAU staffer
Case studies
View all case studies
A new integrated model of care for mental health
Read case study
Exploring disability inclusion in banking
Read case study