Conference presents career options

NEXT STEP: Amanda Picken, Ministry of Education vocational pathways spokeswoman, leads close to 200 senior students from Wairarapa colleges through her own early career journey during the second annual Future Me Careers Conference.

Almost 200 senior students from Wairarapa colleges gathered in Masterton on Thursday for the second annual Future Me Careers Conference - Future Me in the Wai.

The conference was held at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park and involved Year 11 to 13 students, Masterton YMCA employment skills trainees, and young mums from the Wairarapa Teen Parent Unit, says Trudy Sears, Wairarapa REAP schools' liaison and conference organiser.

Ms Sears said the event offered students an opportunity "to develop a direction for their future career paths and better understand the impact of their educational choices".

The inaugural conference last year had been an "eye-opener" for students with numerous participants discovering what was needed for the next stage of their education, training or career, she said.

Several Wairarapa employers had this year supported the conference with some of their younger workers "passing on first-hand their experiences of moving from school to employment, including their apprenticeship and on the job training details".

"There was a move this year to offer a more interactive event rather than an expo. We wanted students to select what they wanted to know and to hear from young people who were in employment or were training on the job."

Wairarapa businesses represented at the event included Breadcraft, Hansells Masterton, Tranzit, Treecraft Arboriculture, Copthorne Hotel and Resort Solway Park, My Boyfriend's Back fashion label, Farman Turkington Forestry, Wairarapa Machinery Services, Pohutukawa Early Learning Centre, New Zealand Police, and the New Zealand Defence Force.

Industry training organisations also on hand at the event included COMPETENZ, BCITO, MITO and tertiary providers UCOL Wairarapa, YooBee School of Design, New Zealand Institute of Sport, NZ Fashion Tech, WelTec and Whitireia Polytechnic.

Ms Sears said the event was organised by Wairarapa careers and transition teachers to highlight the Youth Guarantees Vocational Pathways scheme.

"The aim is to help students develop a direction towards their future career success."

The conference ran over four "concentrated hours" and featured guest speakers and 30 workshops lasting 40 minutes apiece covering six employment sectors including construction and infrastructure, manufacturing and technology, primary, service and creative industries, and social and community services.

It opened with a keynote address from Trust House chief executive Alan Pollard, and an employers' panel comprised of Wairarapa employers Darin McDonald from Breadcraft, Gretchen Dean from the Wairarapa DHB, Wendy Morrison from ANZ, Peter Rickman from Trust House, and Guy Farman from Farman Turkington Forestry helped field students' questions.

Trust House, Lands Trust Masterton, UCOL Wairarapa, and Breadcraft were event sponsors, Ms Sears said, with support from Wairarapa REAP and Wairarapa Workforce Development Trust.