The second Get—Go Futures Day was held on Friday the 21st of May, providing the opportunity for all Year 10 students in Horowhenua to visit two different employers to explore future employment options. Futures Day also provided students the ability to connect their learning at school to a workplace environment.
The Get—Go Futures Day event was delivered by the new employment initiative, Get—Go, in partnership with Horowhenua College, Manawatū College and Waiopehu College. This initiative is supported by Government funding administered by the Provincial Development Unit.
Horowhenua College Principal, Grant Congdon says Get—Go Futures Day gives students the chance to connect their classroom learning in a real-world workplace environment.
“It’s often hard for young people to see how what they’ve learnt at school can be applied to jobs like operating GPS self-steering tractors, social media management, or commercial construction. By getting to visit these employers and see some of the diversity of the roles that are out there – we want to inspire young people and support them to get excited about their future careers.”
Six local employers participated in this years’ event and covered a variety of industries; Genoese Foods, Woodhaven Gardens, Techlam, Thermosash, Turks, and OJI Fibre Solutions.
Director and Area Manager of recently relocated Thermosash Commercial, Dave Rooker says that the Get—Go Futures Day enabled Thermosash to showcase the many employment opportunities our future workforce can have locally.
“We were able to show the students the variety of employment pathways that Thermosash offers and that our products are manufactured right here in Levin by local people and installed in commercial buildings across New Zealand.”
Students were guided through three ’adventures’ at each employer to show them how their learning can be applied across different industries and roles, something that Waiopehu College students said opened their eyes.
“It was a really eye opening experience seeing the opportunities we have locally, I loved getting out of my comfort zone and trying new things”
Get—Go and Horowhenua New Zealand Trustee Sarah Ryan says this is just one of many initiatives that Get—Go will be facilitating.
“Having only launched to the community in February this year, Get—Go is off to a great start. Ultimately, we are working towards delivering activities across all age groups, sectors and demographics. There is lots more to come.”
