KEY POINTS:
Name: Marie-Jo Wilson.
Age: 35.
Working hours: 8am-5pm, but there's a high degree of travel involved, visiting schools, so it's flexible.
Employer: Foundation for Youth Development.
Pay scale: $60K-$80K.
Qualifications: A qualification in education or training and development is useful but not essential. It's more important to have the right skill-set around communications, stakeholder relationships and project management.
Career prospects: The charitable sector is huge, with opportunities in a variety of roles like marketing, business development, fundraising and management.
Describe your job.
I am the national manager for Kiwi Can, a youth development programme for 5-12 year-olds run in primary and intermediate schools. We help children to develop greater self-confidence and a "can do"' attitude to challenges in life.
Kiwi Can is run through local trusts who deliver the programme to schools in their region. My job is to support the team in aspects ranging from school liaison and branding, through to training, development and quality assurance.
How does Kiwi Can work?
Kiwi Can is a life skills and values programme that develops better individuals, schools and communities by encouraging the next generation to have pride in themselves and their environment and reducing anti-social behaviour such as bullying, bad language and graffiti.
We understand that changing negative attitudes and behaviour doesn't happen overnight so we work with schools over a number of years to improve the overall atmosphere and culture. Every child attends a weekly Kiwi Can lesson, every week of the school year and Kiwi Can leaders participate in schools' extra-curricular activities and assist in the playground, keeping expectations consistent throughout the school.
The programme started in Auckland just over 10 years ago and has spread to more than 60 schools. We have more than 12,000 students taking part in Kiwi Can, from Kaeo to Stewart Island.
Kiwi Can costs around $350 a student, per annum. As a not-for-profit organisation, we receive a small amount of funding from the Ministry of Education and schools make a contribution towards the overall cost but, primarily, we rely on the support of the public, businesses and philanthropic trusts to fund the programme.
Your background?
I started out teaching young adults in the United Kingdom, Poland and then Argentina, before moving into the not-for-profit sector. I have worked for charities with an education and youth focus here and in the UK and enjoy working in this sector.
What skills does the job require?
My job involves a high degree of flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. The role also requires communication with school principals, Kiwi Can staff, board of trustees, funders and donors; so good relationship building skills is a must. It's also important to have a personal attitude that reflects the Kiwi Can objectives and aims.
How does Kiwi Can benefit schools?
Teachers tell us that students have learnt to take more responsibility for themselves, are better behaved and their attitudes have improved. They don't have to intervene as frequently in playground conflicts because students now have the skills to deal with the situation themselves. Other teachers report a greater level of social cohesion within the school. Children look out for each other and take a greater sense of pride in their school and community. That's what makes Kiwi Can so rewarding.
What are the job's challenges?
We continually face the challenge of securing funding to carry on what we are doing, especially in smaller communities that don't have access to funding and resources like the urban centres. There are so many more schools that would love to be involved in Kiwi Can than we can now resource.
Your strengths?
Organisation skills are important in this type of job with numerous projects on the go and multiple stakeholders to work with. You have to be able to retain a lot of information.
What has the programme taught you about children and society?
That children respond well to praise and encouragement. It's encouraging to see these children being given the opportunity to change negative youth statistics.
It's also great to see how pro-active schools are about fostering a healthy environment for learning. Innovative schools are working hard to equip children with the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are going to stand them in good stead for the future.
I learn something new every day and the enjoyment I get out of my job re-emphasises that I am where I should be.
Advice to anyone wanting to do something similar?
Get experience. If you have a passion for working with youth, get out there and volunteer. There are plenty of opportunities and volunteering will build up your skills and experience, as well as helping you identify what you're good at and enjoy the most.
