Financial help for school leavers

25 July 2018

Local students leaving school this year to pursue further education or training are being urged to apply for a new King Country-based scholarship programme.

The Lines Company (TLC) has launched its first ever TLC Inspiring Local Minds Scholarship, open only to school leavers who live or have gone to school locally.  Five scholarships of $2,000 for each year of study are available. The scholarships can be in place for a maximum of three years, meaning successful applicants could be awarded up to $6,000 each.

Applications open on August 1 and TLC chief executive Sean Horgan is hoping for big interest in the programme. It has been directly discussed with all local schools which already have application forms on site. From August 1, students will be able to download an application form from TLC’s website, thelines.co.nz.

Horgan said the scholarship was designed to reward students with the right attitude, who shared TLC values.

“This is not focused on academic achievement; we’re looking much broader than that and a range of factors will be taken into account,” he said.

“It’s aimed at school leavers from our network area who are looking to do further study or training linked to the huge range of skills sets we need at TLC.  We employ 140 people across our region in roles ranging from line mechanics, to accountants, to engineers, to call centre staff so we’re not limiting this to specific types of training or study.”

“TLC is here for the long-haul and we wanted to create a programme which will directly benefit the community, our young people and potentially other local employers who may also struggle to attract or retain young talent.”

As well as financial support, the TLC Inspiring Local Minds Scholarship could provide recipients with mentoring or work experience opportunities during holiday periods.  Scholarship recipients would receive funding before any fees were due.  However, if they failed to complete their course of study, they would be required to pay the funding back.

Scholarship applications close on Friday, August 31 with forms available from schools now, or from the TLC office in Te Kūiti.  A form will be online to download from August 1.

All short-listed applicants will be required to attend a face-to-face interview during September or October with a selection panel. The five inaugural scholarship winners will be announced later this year.