Get—Go Futures Day connecting students with local employers
The fourth annual Get-Go Futures Day was held on Thursday 23rd March, providing the opportunity for over 300 Horowhenua Year 10 students and their teachers to visit a range of different employers on the day to explore future local employment options. Futures Day provides students the opportunity to connect their learning at school to workplace environments and expectations.
The Get-Go Futures Day event is an employment initiative by Get-Go, in partnership with Horowhenua College, Manawatū College and Waiopehu College.
Career opportunities were showcased across seven businesses who participated in this year’s event; Aquatics Horowhenua, Horowhenua District Council Parks & Reserves, HDC Civic , Woodhaven Gardens, Pāmu Farms, Techlam NZ and Quarter Acre Café.
Students had the opportunity to see different aspects of the businesses, for example, GPS self-steering tractors, being agile in a commercial kitchen, or designing public walk ways and parks. By getting to visit employers and see some of the diversity of the roles that are out there, we can inspire young people and support them to get excited about their future careers and workplace environments.
TECHLAM NZ
Dave Hollows, Techlam Quality Control and Compliance Manager, said that the Get-Go Futures Day enabled Techlam to showcase the many employment opportunities our future workforce has locally. He told students about the various college students he employed there and the roles that they are now doing in the construction and manufacturing industry.
“We were able to show the students the variety of employment pathways that Techlam offers and that our products are manufactured right here in Levin by local people and installed in commercial buildings across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.”
PĀMU FARMS
Students were guided through three hands on experiences at Pamu Farms in Moutoa (Landcorp). These included learning the importance of science and maths in relations to crop and grass management, insights into the operations of a milking shed, to machinery operations such as tractors in feeding out, crop drilling and sowing.
Letitia Bonner, their Business Analyst and ex-Waiopehu student herself, talked to students about the dairy industry and they participated in a fun activity to measure out 1kilo of grass, to discuss how much grass production is needed to feed a dairy herd eating 18 kilos a day individually.
Tony Dowman, the Dairy Farm Manager, discussed the overall roles on the farm from paddock to tractor work and the qualifications that each role required.
QUARTER ACRE CAFÉ
Quarter Acre Café provided a functioning restaurant and had students to try their hand at setting tables, coffee making with a barista and working in a commercial kitchen making omelettes with a chef. The experience left an impression with three students sending in letters and CVs to be considered for after school work and weekend work!
COLLEGE FEEDBACK
Horowhenua College Principal, Grant Congdon said “ The Get-Go Futures Day gives students the chance to connect their classroom learning to the real-world. It’s often hard for young people to see how what they’ve learnt at school can be applied to jobs”.
The day showed them how their learning can be applied across different industries and roles, something that Waiopehu College students said surprised them.
“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" said one Waiopehu Student.
Fraser Daysh, the Work Force Advisor from Get-Go who organises the day and co-ordination between Colleges and business said “ Future’s Day is an exciting day for our students and businesses. It enables them to build connections and for students to understand what goes on behind closed doors. We see Futures Day as an opportunity to open student eyes to local opportunities and start them thinking about career options which can be refined throughout their school journey”.
