To receive Youth Guarantee (YG) Fund funding, you must continue to be:

• Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (Te Pūkenga); or
• a wānanga; or
• a private training establishment (PTE); or
• a State or State-integrated school that has been funded by us for YG provision since 2011.

 See the YG funding conditions from the relevant year for the full TEO eligibility requirements.

Funding conditions by year

See the YG funding conditions from the relevant year for the full programme eligibility requirements.

Funding conditions by year

Minimum requirements

YG Fund provision should: 

• lead to the award of a qualification that is either NCEA at Level 1, 2 or 3; or another National or New Zealand Certificate at Level 1, 2 or 3 on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF)
• include literacy and numeracy provision
• comprise part of a recognised pathway (as determined by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority [NZQA]) towards one or more vocational qualifications at Level 4 and above on the NZQCF
• be aligned to the Vocational pathways (if it leads to a Level 1 or 2 NCEA qualification)
• be provided by tutors who are appropriately qualified.

 From 2023 0.5 EFTS means:

• 40 credits for a programme leading to a Level 1 or 2 qualification, and
• 60 credits for all other programmes.

For more information on Vocational Pathways and the list of standards in each pathway see Youth Guarantee.

Youth Guarantee delivery must be face-to-face (for example, not delivered via distance learning or in a work-based setting) unless we authorise you in writing to use an alternative delivery method.

See the YG funding conditions from the relevant year for the full learner eligibility requirements.

Funding conditions by year

Learners must not be simultaneously enrolled in school and a Youth Guarantee funded qualification.

Learners must not be enrolled in a Youth Guarantee funded qualification and also be enrolled in another TEC-funded programme at the same time, eg, Intensive Literacy and Numeracy (ILN), a Delivery on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework at Levels 1 and 2 (DQ1-2), New Zealand Apprenticeship or Gateway.

A learner that is eligible for ILN-funded programmes is not considered to have the necessary literacy and numeracy skills to be successful in a Youth Guarantee programme.

Limit on qualification prior achievement

Qualification prior achievement limits are to ensure that government funding is targeted to learners with no or low qualification prior achievement, and to enable learners to pathway to higher level qualifications.

In practice this means:

• a new enrolment is the first time that learner has been enrolled in Youth Guarantee at that TEO, and
• the TEO must verify individual learners’ prior achievement before accepting them into the programme.

Level 1 and 2 programmes

TEOs must ensure that learners who already hold a qualification at Level 1 or 2 on the NZQF comprise no more than 10% of new enrolments in a Youth Guarantee programme leading to award of a qualification at that level.

A learner enrolment in a subsequent Youth Guarantee qualification at the same TEO at any level is not considered a ‘new enrolment’.

Level 3 programmes

To meet the learner eligibility requirements the TEO must:

• not enrol a learner in a Youth Guarantee programme if the learner has already achieved a qualification at Level 3 or above on the NZQF, and

• prioritise enrolments in Youth Guarantee programmes that lead to award of a level 3 qualification on the NZQF to:

• • learners who enrolled in Youth Guarantee with low prior achievement (no qualification or a level 1 qualification), and
  • learners who have completed a level 1 or 2 qualification funded through Youth Guarantee.

Age limit for learners

Learners may be re-enrolled in Youth Guarantee, as long as they continue to meet the learner eligibility conditions, including enrolling in no more than 1.5 EFTS provision per calendar year.

Some learners may turn 25 years old during a programme they are enrolled in. These learners remain eligible for Youth Guarantee for the courses required to complete their qualification.

Youth Guarantee funding is not available for learners who have already turned 25 years old to re-enrol in courses they did not successfully complete. Keep this in mind when you enrol a learner who is close to turning 25 years of age, as any re-enrolments in qualifications or courses will need to be self-funded by the learner or from DQ1-2/Non-degree Delivery at Levels 3-7 on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework and all Industry Training (DQ3-7) Funds funding.