Careers Information
General
Well who would have thought COVID19 would have closed us down. But it did and I am pleased to say we have survived. With interesting times ahead for our students, employers and tertiary providers - now more than ever it is important to research, consider, eliminate and action your next steps.
Whilst many students have had a rethink their plans for next year, I really believe it should be seen in a positive light, with more emphasis on new opportunities rather than what could have been. I continue to enjoy chatting with students and discussing options around 2021 and have enjoyed the ability for zoom chats over the lockdown.
Both year 13 and year 12 have received questionnaires about their plans and interests, this has been valuable information to have for us, as we move forward to provide relevant guest speakers and career events.
Universities and other tertiary providers are updating us regularly and most are doing webinars that students are encouraged to participate in. These are advertised on school facebook and daily notices.
******NZ wide Virtual Careers Expo 2020******
This is happening on Thursday 18th June 12 - 8 pm and Friday 19th June 9 - 5pm
Because of COVID19, the cancellations and postponements resulted in a significant gap in information that our students would normally get. Thankfully Media Design School and Torrens Uni, have come up with this idea of having a virtual career expo. Over 40 providers are confirmed for the event. Attendees will enter a virtual exhibition hall and can browse through the participating providers, visiting their virtual stands and engaging in live chats with representatives from each institution. Providers will host 20 minute webinars sessions. The most important thing is for students to register so that they can access the expo.
https://www.mediadesignschool.com/virtual-careers-expo
Vocational Pathway Focus Week
Social and Community
As part of our 6 part series exploring different career opportunities and we had to get creative during lockdown.The week before school returned, our senior students were sent an email with a powerpoint presentation and tutor challenge on Social and Community services.
We hope they took some time to look at this fabulous resource.
Points were awarded for each student who filled in the challenge and sent it back. Students also had an opportunity in the first week of school to complete the Tutor Challenge with their tutor teacher where they can discuss and share answers.
The winning Tutor of the challenge was MACL 61/64, well done to you guys.
Currently, the canoes in the lead for the Vocational Pathway competitions are Mataatua/ Arawa So come on Tainui and Aotea, there's still time to catch up, with the next VP weeks listed below-
Creative Industries 16th - 18th June
Construction & Infrastructure 4th - 6th August
Primary Industries 25th - 27th August
Participation Results points Points tally
Arawa 3 2 5
Mataatua 2 3 5
Tainui 1 1 1
Aotea 0 0 0
PLEASE NOTE - POINTS WILL BE AWARDED TO THE CANOE AFTER THE LAST VP FOCUS WEEK.
Guestspeakers
We will be inviting a few speakers into the school over the next few weeks. These are targeted at our school leavers, in particular to help with applications and questions about entry requirements etc. As always these will be advertised in daily notices.
School website
We have updated the careers section on our school website and invite you to take a look, there is lots of helpful information and links to universities etc. There are also resources available to you by just emailing one of the team and requesting them.
School leavers
If you are a school leaver please check out this fabulous website with heaps of information to help you transition into the world of work or study.
www.moneyhub.co.nz make sure you click on ‘students’
Scholarships
There is a steady flow of scholarship opportunities coming through at the moment. Most are found on individual provider websites, but there are often others so a quick visit to the careers department to check these out may mean some $$ for you. With any scholarship it is important to remember a few things -
*Make sure you meet the criteria
*Make sure you meet the deadlines
*Make sure you supply what they have asked for; documents, references, verifications, etc
*Make sure you check spelling, grammar and punctuation, don't rush it, take some time
* Apply, apply, apply, You can apply for more than one scholarship. If you are lucky enough to get more than one offer, there may be a slim chance you can only accept one, but this will be made clear to you and then you can make a decision. It should not stop you from applying.
Gateway
Our students have been very patient during the lockdown and with the levels dropping to Level 1 students are now able to start entering into work environments again. To ensure our students are safe and before students returned to their placements they completed a ‘Back to work after COVID work booklet through Safety Matters NZ. This booklet had all the relevant information and expectations in the work environment, correct hygiene measures and general information about COVID. Each student will receive a Certificate of completion and this will be another achievement they can add to their CV.
On Friday 29th of May, students had the opportunity to attend our second Workplace First Aid Course. This course is worth 4 credits and is a great addition to students CV’s when they are first looking to get into the workforce.
We are very grateful to our local businesses who have been so accommodating and willing to get students back into practical work experience after COVID had such an impact on our community.
Trades
Toi Ohomai offered online learning for most of our trades students, however there were a few technical issues, with logging in remotely to the Toi Ohomai network. Most issues were sorted out and students could participate in google meets and classrooms. Thank you to all those who made an effort to keep up with your work.
Trades courses have been back and running for a couple of weeks now, and tutors are enjoying practical lessons again. They will be updating me as to where everyone is sitting in regards to attendance and achievement at the end of this term. I will pass this information on as I have it.
So that is it for now, please make contact with the career team if we can help you in any way.
Delwyn and Paula
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