Context: New Zealand has a high percentage of students that remain in school at age 17, with 83.5 per cent recorded in this category in 2017. In spite of this, the country perceives its youth unemployment rate of 12.7 per cent (2017) as an obstacle to progressing as a knowledge-based economy. To tackle young people’s lack of formal qualifications and youth unemployment, the government supports the development of a vocational education system as an alternative to traditional schooling.
Implementation of programme/ initiative: “School to Work” is a government-funded initiative launched in mid-2016 to offer students in their last years of high school the opportunity to complement their studies with part-time employment within the marine and composites industry. The initiative is led by the New Zealand Marine and Composites Industry Training Organisation (NZMAC ITO) and supported by the Ministry of Education.
NZMAC ITO matches students with employers and continuously assists and assesses them during implementation of the programme. Each participating student is assigned an individualized learning plan that combines 1-2 days of a paid work placement and 3-4 days of school per week, for part or all of the school year.
Main challenges: School to Work depends entirely on aligning the interests and efforts of the parties involved, which at times poses challenges. On the one hand, schools are required to adapt their policies to fit in work placements between hours of schooling. On the other hand, students are expected to act responsibly and reach the employer’s work standards.
Moreover, NZMAC ITO might encounter difficulties managing the expectations of both students and employers. The success of the programme depends on its ability to find the right fit between a student genuinely interested in the field of work they are to engage with and a company that can provide an authentic introduction to the industry.
Results achieved: School to Work focused on Auckland and Hamilton in 2016 and successfully expanded to other regions in the following years. In May 2017, it involved 30 students from 22 secondary schools that were given paid work placements with 30 companies. At the end of the school year, various students that wished to continue their career in the field were offered apprenticeships and employment.
The programme’s expansion is largely due to NZMAC ITO’s direct communication efforts to inform students about the multiple benefits of participating in it and about the diverse career pathways offered by the industry. It placed NZMAC ITO in a position of leadership in assisting students in making an informed career decision and providing a pathway from the classroom to the workplace.
Moving Forward: The programme aims to keep expanding as NZMAC ITO strengthens its relationship with schools. Moreover, other vocational education initiatives such as this one extended to various high schools in New Zealand, offering a different educational model for senior students to help increase graduate employability.
Replicability: School to Work affirms the benefits of an alternative education model that adapts to the career interests and financial needs of students during their last years of high school. A flexible learning plan that combines training and paid work experience with mainstream schooling is key in increasing the percentage of senior students that finish high school. It not only alleviates the financial strain of full-time studies, but mainly helps smooth the transition from school to work by providing young people with essential skills and opportunities to confidently face the labour market.
References:
http://www.nzmacito.org.nz/schools/
http://www.nzmacito.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2018/04/School-to-Work.pdf
https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/nqfdocs/provider-reports/8140.pdf
http://www.nzmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/10/NZ_Marine_Annual_Report_2016-v2.pdf
Acknowledgements:
This good practice was kindly prepared by Ms. Victoria Mulville
Project Details
Date: March 18, 2019