After a decade of training more than 600 students aged 14–18 to carry out rescue operations in the backcountry, Youth Search and Rescue (YSAR) is shutting down.

Eight branches had been operating the three-year programme across the country, but in a statement the YSAR trust said the financial viability of the model had become concerning. 

About 12 per cent of YSAR’s operating budget came from student fees, 50 per cent from government agency New Zealand Search and Rescue, and the remainder relied on fundraising efforts.

Four staff members will be made redundant, and the 210 students currently enrolled will have to cease their training. 

YSAR board of trustees chair Daniel McGowan said the decision had not been made lightly, and his team had spent hours exploring alternative funding solutions. 

“Efforts to redesign the YSAR programme, find alternative funding sources or create alternative scenarios where training can be delivered safely and consistently and within fiscal constraints proved impossible.”