By Junior Journalist Alina Jiang
Almost everyone has problems starting to study!
Whether it’s school bills, getting a student loan/allowance, job training, etc.
First up we have education opportunities. Usually you have to be around 16 or 17 to apply, but as you may know you require a University Entrance for tertiary training so let’s talk about how to get a youth guarantee.
The requirements are having few or no school qualifications, wanting to learn skills that will help you get a job or into further training.
Then you’ll go to some tertiary institution to see if you’re ready for the training course and to give you a taste of the course before you do it.
The training mostly consists of vocational training, at degree, diploma and certificate level.
Surely, you’ll get a job at this rate! Second, I’m going to talk about student loans.
You usually need one if you can’t afford the things in your tuition such as books, materials and fee-free study.
Student loan covers most of the money stuff but to apply for it there are several steps.
First you need the eligible criteria such as being a New Zealand citizen or being enrolled on the tertiary education commission-approved course.
You can apply online or offline, they’re both used by many students.
First you will take an eligibility test, where you provide evidence that you’re eligible for a student loan. Then you provide information such as your IRL number, tax code, bank account number.
Second when StudyLink (recommended) receives your application they’ll reply with an email, a letter and a loan contract.
These include messages saying: (email) they are processing your application, (letter) telling you what your client’s number is and further info about your documents that they want, and (loan contract) which you require to sign and return.
Once you’re done they approve the application and let you know when the payments start.
This is the most important part. The student loan is not free, you will have to pay it back.
The current amount is $22,828 and your loan will be interest-free as long as you’re based in New Zealand and don’t incur late payment interest.
Finally, there’s a bonding agreement, which is an agreement between an employer and an employee.
An example is where the employer has to pay for the training, a longer course and moving cities.
The employer cannot use the bonding agreement for costs of hiring – for example, testing, induction/orientation etc.
If you’re an employee and you leave the job before the end of the agreement you’ll have to pay back for the training and a proportion of the cost.
You can visit the Citizen Advice Bureau website for more info and if you still need help visit your nearest bureau. Check out their Youth Tool Kete https://youth.cab.org.nz/.
It’s an awesome new site for rangatahi and has heaps of info to help you navigate flatting, working, buying a car, your well-being and more.
Alina Jiang is in Year 6 at Owairoa Primary School
