The Careers Department has a very good relationship with tertiary providers, who welcome the opportunity to talk to the boys through the General Studies programme. They are aware the boys may have already made a decision about their future, but there is always something in the presentations for the boys to think about. Chris recently invited career development consultant Grant Paice, from the Tertiary Education Commission, to talk with him and Assistant Principal – Curriculum Joe Eccleton about career development at College and the career benchmarks as outlined by the Ministry of Education. Several themes emerged from this discussion, including the ongoing need for careers information in schools to be talked about in the curriculum, and individual teachers relating their subjects and skills to the future world of work.
subjects, personal qualities or character strengths, areas of interest, hobbies, and paid and voluntary work, before looking at short and possible long-term goals. Chris asks them about their current thoughts and encourages them to be realistic when it comes to certain careers and entry requirements. All Year 13 boys talk to Chris and, in most cases, have a reasonable idea about what they want to do after College, but some need to “go back to basics”. In which case, Chris will talk to them about their areas of interest, a real passion, or ask the question, “what problem would you like to solve in the future?” By Term 3 most boys will be confident with their decision, but also understand a large percentage of students change their courses at tertiary level after the first year of study. Over recent years, there has been an increase in the number of boys deciding to attend Ara Institute of Technology, as its more practical approach with smaller class sizes is more to their
liking. (Of interest, Chris reports hearing of school leavers who completed a degree, but have now enrolled at polytechnic to begin a trade.) The parents of all boys are rung after Chris has interviewed them and this dialogue has been appreciated by all. For the first time this year, the Careers Department has been working with the Old Boys’ Association to arrange for recent and not-so-recent Old Boys to talk with interested boys about their current or previous jobs. This has proven to be most valuable. So far there have been sessions involving law, landscape design and management (from a former Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Australia), a previous Head Prefect now in the army, a jazz/percussion musician, an architect and a pilot. Boys have also been keen to sign up for industry visits, and the General Studies programme invites speakers from universities, polytechnics and the Defence Force to present about and offer various possibilities.
College Issue 35 2018
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