Be prepared for plenty of variety

Luke Neilson has plenty of organising to do in caring for children. Photo / Graeme Sedal

What do you do?

As programme manager I look after St Lukes' School's Out, an after-school care and holiday programme. I organise the pick up of the children from schools and organise the staff, rosters, food, equipment and other resources for the afternoon.

We have a short meeting about the afternoon when the other teachers arrive. Afternoon tea is prepared for the children before three van drivers and runners head out to pick them up from school. The children range in age from 6 to 14. We help them with their homework and then activities are started. The day finishes at 6pm.

Currently, a busy day is 35 children with a staff of four. We must have a ratio of one staff to 10 children.

School's Out has only been in New Zealand two or three years and is still growing. I also help with opening new centres and general promotions, including team building and customer service.

I also do some training and development and marketing and promotions for Kidicorp, our parent organisation.

That is quite a mix of roles?

A real smorgasbord. After school care isn't a full-time role but I've built up full-time hours through small projects that use my experience in training and development and marketing and promotions.

What do you enjoy most?

I love being around kids and helping them develop life skills. I enjoy encouraging them out of their shells so they feel comfortable with themselves. But I never wanted to be a teacher.

Your history?

During high school I worked at McDonald's as a training and service manager. After school I started a marketing and management degree, then decided I wanted to travel. I like kids so I signed on for camp counsellor at Summer Camp USA, run by International Exchange Programmes. I liked it so much I did nine summers. This is four to five months' work per year.

I also worked for the same camp, Timber Lake West Camp, in New York for two years helping to market and promote the camps.

I also came back to New Zealand and continued with my study, which isn't completed. I just felt I was learning more by doing it than studying about it.

I returned to New Zealand two years ago and initially got a job on reception at a Kidicorp centre while deciding what to do next. That job led to School's Out.

Preferred training and experience?

The best training is on the floor but jobs that have a strong focus on customer service are helpful. My training with the summer camps helped me learn how to approach kids and motivate, instil values and encourage them.

Skills and qualities required?

You need to be a people's person, open to everything and everybody.

You need patience with children and you need to really enjoy being around them. Otherwise there is not much point.

You also need to be flexible and go above and beyond with everything you do.

Advice?

Be willing to do anything. Ask questions, be open to training all the time and remember what it is like to be a child. Ask for work experience, boys as well as girls. I've got three male staff now; there is a flow-on effect once you start employing males.

Don't forget that you learn from your mistakes and from the people around you.

As far as the marketing side goes, I learned a lot from the work I did at corporate level and I believe that combination of study and work helped me a lot. It is about taking any opportunity that comes your way, no matter how small, because that is how doors keep opening.

What is it like being a male in this line of work?

At first I thought it would be uncomfortable and weird for other staff but because I was already known through my initial reception role, it was an easy transition, I think.

Parents love it. I thought they'd be skeptical but some say they bring their children here because of us males. We find having male and female staff is really good for our kids in after-school care.

As far as harassment issues go, you have to be sensible. I don't go into the toilets, for example. I'd send a female teacher instead.

I never shut the door of my office if I'm in here with a child and I always make sure that the desk is between us. If we need to discuss something privately, I'd have another teacher in as well. These are ways to ensure nothing is misconstrued.

I have learned how to make physical contact with the kids without it being problematic.

And the future?

I'm excited by training and development and hope to do more of that in the future in this area.

MY JOB
Name: Luke Neilson.
Role: School's Out business manager/programme manager.
Age: 29.
Employer: School's Out Auckland/Kidicorp.
Working hours: 40-hour week.
Pay scale: After school care: $18-$20 per hour. Marketing and promotions work: $20-$25 per hour.