Rotorua Careers Expo showing the world is your oyster

Rotorua Lakes High School student Liam Twigley, 15, at the Rotorua Careers Expo. Photo / Stephen Parker

Intermediate school - you're finally not a child anymore. But now instead of adults only pestering you about doing your homework and packing your lunch, questions about what you want to do as a career start flooding in. On Seek's website, an agency for job searching, repeated the rhetoric of "many of today's school children will work in jobs that haven't even been invented yet". The opportunities are infinite, now only limited by imagination.

Whether it's construction, community service or something creative, the Rotorua Careers Expo yesterday and today had a range of options for students to explore.

"There's more than meets the eye" was the takeaway theme of the day and stallholders made efforts to ensure this message got across.

Rotorua Careers Expo Trust chairwoman Sheryl Hewitson said the expo had grown from only students to now attracting second-chance learners and parents and the stalls were a lot more interactive.

"That's the value of having employers here, [students] get to see the bigger picture," she said. "It's about breaking through barriers, getting those contacts."

The expo took on a Vocational Pathways layout - a colour-coded flower that showed students which industries matched certain areas of interest.

Vocational Pathways mapped out a framework for students to show how their learning and achievement aligns with certain industries.

Gone are the days where all that was involved was walking from stall to stall and someone behind a table tells you about their industry.

Digital Natives Academy (DNA), a foundational programme for those interested in the realm of gaming technology, provides exposure and pathways for young people.

On the outside, it looks like gaming, but the programme offers coding, animation, and E-sports.

Vocational Pathways shows students how their learning and achievement is valued in the workplace. Source: Education Gazette

One of the many people the DNA stall caught the attention of was Rotorua Lakes High School student Liam Twigley.

Twigley is now split on what he would want to do when he leaves school: Either civil engineering or play professionally as in a Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA).

A career in MOBA would involve training and competing in E-sport competitions and winnings could rack up thousands of dollars.

Karaz Mikaere, an Esports promoter, said they were now partnered with Riot, an E-sport game creator, to push the education and industry aspect, bringing to light career options.

Need direction? We can all help! Monday 6th May: 10am till 6pm Tuesday 7th May: 9am till 2pm Free to visit at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre. See you there! 😊

Posted by Rotorua Careers Expo on Saturday, 4 May 2019

The newest addition to the expo was Freight and Logistics who had a range of trucks, from freight to firefighter engines, sprawled on the Energy Events Centre carpark.

Transport director of career pathways Steve Divers said there was a lot about driving trucks that could lead to a plethora of career options.

An example he gave was a truck with a claw that responds to accidents, and the driver spent more time on a controller retrieving large debris.

Rotorua Girls' High School Year 12 students Taini Tomoana, Grace Sinclair and Shay Tahana learned, to their surprise, how they could contribute to the honey industry.

Tomoana aspires to be an engineer, Sinclair is drawn to sound and music, and Tahana, a pilot.

But honey, a primary industry which stems into many aspects of life, would value an engineer for the raw product, a sound expert for hive activity and a helicopter pilot for national transport.

"It showed how they were all connected," Tomoana said.

The career expo will wrap up at tomorrow at 2pm.