Students to get personalised career plans under new Labour policy

Labour wants each student to have a personalised career plan. Photo / Getty Images

All careers advice given to school students would come from a specifically trained advisor under new Labour policy.

Every student from Year 9 onwards would be given a personalised career plan under the policy, announced today by Labour leader Andrew Little.

The policy would cost about $30 million a year, Labour said.

"Labour's plan will professionalise careers advice and integrate it into learning. Every school will have highly trained, skilled careers advice staff," Little said.

"As the world of work changes, careers advice can no longer be seen as an add-on, delivered by already overstretched teaching staff."

Schools already have to provide careers education and guidance, but the form that takes is not specified.

Last year the Ministry of Education said it did not have a view on whether a national training scheme for careers advisers was needed.

Little made the announcement in an address to the Industry Training Federation AGM at Te Papa in Wellington.

"Our $30 million plan will partner schools with business and training providers to deliver up-to-date and relevant careers advice that prepares our young people for the future," he said.

The policy is part of Labour's Future of Work Commission, a two-year project that will contribute to the party's new economic development policies.

Concern that a huge number of blue- and white-collar jobs will be lost to robotics, automisation and computerisation is a driver behind the project.

In May, the Government announced Careers New Zealand would be scrapped, and its career advice folded into the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC).

Legislation to disestablish the Crown entity is expected early next year.

Resources Careers NZ now provides to support schools will be transferred to the schooling sector.

The TEC will then focus on providing careers information and helping people move from education to employment.

In announcing the change, the Government said funding for careers advice would continue at the same level.

The Ministry of Education began a review of Careers NZ in November 2014. That review was later widened to look at the careers system as a whole.

Labour's careers advice policy

• Every student from Year 9 onwards will have a personalised career plan.

•Careers advice would be professionalised, and every high school would have specifically trained careers advice staff.

•The policy will cost about $30 million a year, Labour says.