Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises — Career Services

Kia ora. Tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou te Whare e whakawhāiti nei i runga i tēnei kaupapa o te pō.

[Thank you. Greetings to you and us collectively, the House, compressed here in this evening’s debate.]

I am absolutely delighted to take a call about Careers New Zealand, which was Career Services, the Government agency responsible for leading the career development of all New Zealanders. It is because I have absolute confidence in the contribution that Career Services makes to the overall education landscape, and the powerful support it provides to all New Zealanders—young people in particular, including Māori and Pasifika—because we, of course, are very committed to those young people leveraging off their educational opportunities and being able to define the skills that are relevant to the career pathways that they would like to be able to take.

So, notwithstanding the deep scepticism that is being expressed by the Opposition members of this House, I think it is important to appreciate that Careers New Zealand, Mana Rapuara Aotearoa, is very focused on how it will help all New Zealanders, how it supports school career guidance officers, and how it works with industry training organisations, local councils, iwi and hapū, and Pasifika organisations, in order that they are able to assist young people to design career pathways for themselves.

There have been a number of recent achievements that I am very proud to bring to the attention of the Committee, and which will have been reported at the select committee. In July last year a Careers Summit was held, for instance, with representatives from the private and public sectors, to ensure the careers system works for both employers and individuals, and contributes to economic growth in New Zealand. A career system action plan was developed, focusing on education to employment and effective careers information, because, of course, rather than just talking about how young people can be engaged, Careers New Zealand actually provides services that support them to be able to have a real and meaningful opportunity to develop their lives. We believe in young people being self-determining rather than being dependent, unlike the Opposition members of this House.

Capable Auckland is a Careers New Zealand - led Auckland network, because, as we know, a very big proportion of the youth of New Zealand is in Auckland. It is a network of career and education professionals and industry and business people. It is a key project in the Auckland careers blueprint.

Career education benchmarks: Careers New Zealand has developed innovative self-evaluation tools for schools and tertiary organisations that help young people to assess what choices they should be making as they navigate their way through our qualifications framework. Canterbury recovery: Careers New Zealand is supporting the rebuild effort, with a particular focus on matching skills with the developing labour market in Canterbury. Why is that important? It is important because we need to be boosting all levels of the employment opportunities of young people.

The Canterbury Careers website has been launched. It provides information on available jobs in demand and the skills needed in Canterbury, with direct links to Canterbury jobs advertised in a range of places. There are 16,000 National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) students in Canterbury who are encouraged to plan for their future, which, of course, is a fillip for them, because we all know how challenging the times have been in Canterbury, and the idea that they can also develop and progress their careers is extremely important. So, 16,000 NCEA students in Canterbury have been assisted. Careers New Zealand ensures that this support is made available in all sorts of media that young people plug into.

Can I also talk about how young Māori people are being assisted. Nearly 4,000 young Māori, their whānau, and other influences have been helped to identify what skills pathway they could pursue. Te Tūkirunga, which is a whānau-focused, culture-based careers guidance model, is a flexible programme that allows young Māori to see what choices they might have, and to do it in partnership with their whānau. That is similar to Te Kauhanganui, which the Opposition members may know is the Waikato Tainui initiative that builds skills for those young people in alignment with Waikato Tainui’s navigational approach. Similarly, Pasifika young people: instead of just talking about it, this Government has gotten on and focused on how we can help those young people to be successful.

Report noted.

New Zealand Qualifications Authority