North Canterbury careers expo goes online

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

From local democracy reporter David Hill:

An innovative approach is ensuring North Canterbury youth have access to careers guidance, amid Covid-19 uncertainty.

The North Canterbury Youth Futures careers expo has gone online, Waimakariri District Council community team manager Tessa Sturley said at last week’s community and recreation meeting.

The careers expo was first held in 2019, but has since been disrupted by Covid-19, so the steering group made the decision earlier this year to go online.

The steering group comprised representatives from the council’s community team, Rangiora and Kaiapoi high schools, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Development and ComCol North Canterbury.

The North Canterbury Youth Futures steering group was established in response to a growing concern young people were leaving school with no idea what career they wanted to pursue.

The expo was hosted by Rangiora High School in 2019 and 2021, and was open to all North Canterbury youth, or anyone considering a career change, will all schools in the Waimakariri and Hurunui districts invited to attend.

The development of an online presence has been led by Waimakariri District Council youth development facilitator Emily Belton and Joseph Houghton, from the Ministry of Education.

To help guide the development of online tools, the steering group conducted focus groups with pupils at schools in the Waimakariri and Hurunui districts.

Responses varied depending on the age of students and whether they were rural or urban.

Some envisaged that careers may take them overseas, while recognition of the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and concerns for the environment featured strongly.

Facebook and Instagram pages were being used to promote career pathways, educational opportunities, how to write a CV and how to present transferable skills.

‘‘It’s giving young people tips about how to present what looks like an empty CV, so employers will find it interesting,’’ Sturley said.

‘‘It’s about helping young people to form a plan for their future direction.

"Next year we will look at doing both an in-person event and having an online presence.’’

Sturley said the steering group had made a soft launch this month, putting up links to resources and opportunities.

Video content of interviews with local employers, young people and mentoring would be shared over the coming weeks.

For now, the Waimakariri district did not quality for the Mayor’s Taskforce for Jobs programme, which was proving successful in the Hurunui and Kaikoura districts.

But Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon said the criteria was being reviewed to widen the scope of the programme beyond the 30,000 resident population limit.

‘‘We do provide some funding and support to councils to run the programme, so it would be really good to be able to provide those opportunities in our district.

"We do have low unemployment in our district, but there’s always people who fall through the gaps.’’