May has been a busy month for students investigating their future careers and pathways options with trips to tertiary institutions, visits to local trades organisations and technology workshops

Tertiary Trips

On May 6, nearly 80 senior students attended the Otago University and Polytechnic Open Day in Dunedin. This trip was an opportunity for students to find out about specific subjects and courses and where possible attend lectures. They were also able to visit Halls of Residences and catch up with ex-students to get their perspective on student life.  Two weeks later on May 20, around 65 senior students attended the Canterbury Tertiary trip which is a private trip that we undertake to the University of Canterbury, Lincoln University and ARA Institute. In the morning students were shown around the University of Canterbury campus and then divided into subject areas for a more in-depth look at a particular subject area. Students also got the opportunity to visit a Hall of Residence. In the afternoon the students elected to either visit Lincoln University or ARA Institute to see what courses they had to offer.  These trips are a great way for students to see first hand what a particular university or polytechnic has to offer and whether they would like to study there in the future.

She Can Code

This girls only workshop ran as part of  the Techweek NZ programme. Four students attended this two hour interactive workshop and explored coding, robotics and computer science. The aim of the workshop was to show girls that the tech sector is a place for them! 

ARA Trades Sector Day

On Wednesday 22 May, we had 34 students attend the ARA Trades Sector Day. The students visited local businesses in the morning such as Alpine Energy and Parr and Co to see first hand what a trades career would look like in one of these businesses. In the afternoon the students participated in several hands on challenges like changing a tyre, painting and decorating and using a digger. This day is a great way for students to see what opportunities are available locally and also what courses they might need to do in order to get into a particular trade.