Latest news with #MyNextMove
Otago Daily Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Students shown area's opportunities
This year's South Canterbury Year 11 Pathways Expo was held at the Southern Trust Events Centre, attended by over 750 students from across the region. PHOTO: SUPPLIED More than 750 students attended the 2025 South Canterbury Year 11 Pathways Expo at the Southern Trust Events Centre this month. The annual career expo connected youth with local career options. The event offered year 11 students, from across the region, the chance to engage directly with more than 30 local businesses and training providers. Venture Timaru vocational co-ordinator Liam Brown said the event was structured around a mix of fast-paced speed networking sessions and a traditional expo format, allowing students to have meaningful, small-group conversations with industry professionals. The expo featured a lineup of six guest speakers, who shared their personal career journeys — offering real-world inspiration and advice. Mr Brown said the opening speaker Mayor Nigel Bowen "set the scene for the day" talking about the importance of using initiative, encouraging young people to approach businesses, seek shadowing opportunities and gain insight. "He highlighted the region's strong network of supportive businesses committed to fostering youth participation in the workforce." Mr Brown said feedback from businesses on the day was overwhelmingly positive, with many commenting on the engagement of the students and the value of the mixed format allowing direct connection. Mr Brown put down the enthusiasm of the attending business and their staff and the work career advisers do in prepping their students prior to the event. The expo was run in collaboration with by the My Next Move youth initiative, the local Careers and Transition Education group, and funded by Venture Timaru. He said the expo had become a cornerstone event for helping students explore vocational pathways and better understand the opportunities available within their own community. "With subject choices and career decisions looming, it's critical that young people engage with the world of work early, learning not just what jobs exist, but also what skills, qualifications and mindsets are needed to succeed. "Events like the Pathways Expo give year 11 students the chance to gain this insight first hand, allowing time to reflect on their options and make more informed decisions when it comes time to leave secondary school," he said. — APL
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
A Student's Guide To Postsecondary Education And Career Planning
For middle- and high-school students, life after high school may seem like a distant dream. But for many, graduation comes far too quickly and without a plan for the future. To enable students and recent high school graduates to plan an education-to-career pathway tailored to their interests, strengths, circumstances, and life goals, American Student Assistance (ASA) and Jobs for the Future (JFF) have created a Pathfinder Guide and Checklist. The guide and postsecondary training program checklist include questions, topics for consideration, and tips to help students navigate their career journey. It helps students: What are career interests? They can be specific jobs, like a nursing assistant, or broader industries, like health care. Many teens may still be exploring their career interests, and that's okay. They can start narrowing down their options by considering what classes, extracurricular activities, and hobbies they enjoy; volunteer, work, or community service experiences that give them a sense of accomplishment; and advice from their teachers, counselors, family members, or neighbors. Using free online tools like ASA's Futurescape and EvolveMe, students can then see which careers align with their likes, strengths, and goals, gain access to real-world experiences like virtual internships, and connect with career mentors. Note, some students may have multiple career interests that they want to explore further while others may feel drawn to one in particular. Either situation is fine at this stage in the process. Almost all careers today require additional education or training after high school. For each career interest, students should identify at least one postsecondary training program aligned to it. For example, if a young person is interested in becoming a nursing assistant, they will need to identify and enroll in a state-approved training program and pass an examination. To find this information, students can talk to trusted adults like guidance counselors, network to find professionals who work in their area of interest or do online research using free tools such as My Next Move or Career Village. To evaluate the pros and cons of each training program, this four-step checklist includes a useful rubric. After listing one or more postsecondary training programs aligned with each identified career interest (Step 1), students are asked to respond to a series of prompts about each training program (Step 2), covering areas including but not limited to entrance requirements, structure and logistics, cost, time to hire, and success indicators. Step 3 of the checklist then delves into career readiness/placement, prompting students to reflect on whether their career interest will help society, be something they enjoy doing, allow them to earn a living wage, provide them with employment stability, and give them opportunities for advancement. To answer these questions students may need to supplement their online research with informational interviews with professionals already working in these roles. Once students complete Steps 1-3, they should have the information they need to evaluate each postsecondary training program. Step 4 guides them through this process with reflection questions including how well the program meets the needs of leading employers in the student's area of interest and their placement track record, aligns with student requirements (costs involved, time to completion, scheduling flexibility, etc.), and prepares them for a career that is a good fit for the student's personality and goals. After this analysis, a student may find a specific training program is not a good fit. If that happens, there is no need to be concerned. It is just part of the process and gives students the opportunity to find better pathways that will get them closer to their ideal career. Graduation should be an exciting time for teens, a celebration of their past accomplishments as they look forward to the next chapter in their lives. Yet it can bring stress and anxiety to those who don't have a plan for the future. The Pathfinder Guide and Checklist can help young people explore their career interests and postsecondary training program options, so they can develop a plan for life after high school which puts them on a path towards a fulfilling, enjoyable, and successful career.
