'Futureopoly' careers event held at Hastings schools

Karamu High School students Lucas Epplett, Joseph Curry, Cameron Kyle and Aden Spears learn about what PanPac does at the careers event. Photo / Warren Buckland

An interactive Monopoly format careers programme is helping Hastings secondary school students plan for their futures.

The Graeme Dingle Foundation Hawke's Bay is running a Career Navigator programme in which students at Flaxmere College, Hastings Girls' High School and Karamu High School meet businesses.

It aims to increase students' awareness of career opportunities and build their confidence to make decisions about their career pathways.

Students engage with the businesses by playing "Futureopoly".

Josh Hamilton from Higgins talks year 10 Jazzy Bixley through using their machinery. Photo / Warren Buckland

Businesses set up stations in the hall and students roll a dice to find out which business they will visit.

Set up like an interactive Monopoly board, at the stations there is a mix of industry interviews with presenters from the business and interactive tasks or examples of real-life activities such as paying tax, contributing to Kiwisaver and getting a driver's licence.

At interviews students can ask questions such as what subjects the presenter found useful in the job, necessary qualifications, what skills and abilities are needed and about the organisation and its roles.

Industry tasks include, for example, requiring a student to change a nappy in a certain period of time at an early childhood education station, matching meat cuts to the animal part at a meat works station and building a structure at a construction station.

Interviews and tasks earned students "Dingle Dollars", which could be exchanged for prize raffle tickets.

Karamu deputy principal Sarah Gunn says by offering a range of businesses in the region students are opened up to pathways they might not have thought of, based on an understanding of what it is like to work in different jobs.

On August 3, Karamu Year 10 and 11 students met 15 businesses. Including year 10s meant they could make decisions on which subjects to take at NCEA level.

Year 11 students Olivia Thomas and Esta Chaplin found the event beneficial and walked away excited about their possibilities.

"I thought it was definitely the best career event we've had or that's been available because it was so interactive," says Olivia.

"I thought the selection of people and businesses that were represented was quite good because it opened options for me that I wasn't thinking about."

The Graeme Dingle Foundation Hawke's Bay secondary school coordinator Ashley Toye says the value the students got was worth more than the prizes at the end.

"Having the game concept and getting to earn money and prizes means that students are excited and enticed to engage but the results are better at the other end.

"And because they want to earn the most money and win the most prizes, they were more inclined to do the interview because the interview was worth more than the activity."