Plugging in the next working generation

Workchoice Trust helps connect education with industry. It gives high school students and teachers career exposure, knowledge, connections and ideas for the ‘world of work’. On the eve of a major programme revamp, Glenn Baker spoke to Trust CEO Amanda Wheeler.

One of the most sobering statistics right now is the fact that young people account for more than one-third of New Zealand’s total unemployment rate. There are a number of factors behind this appalling statistic, including the current economic climate, but the education system, employers and parents all have a responsibility to help turn the situation around.
We’re all familiar with the scenario played out up and down the country at the end of each school year – Year 13 students leaving school in their thousands with no idea of what they want to do. Many end up in ‘gap year’ limbo, others sign up for tertiary studies that often only lead to further uncertainty and the inevitable student debt.
Thankfully there is an organisation that’s taking a proactive response to youth unemployment by acting as a connection to business people, knowledge, ideas, work experiences and opportunities for students – to give them a chance to check out the real world of work and be ‘work ready’ when they leave school. It’s programme provides a valuable reality-check for students, and can even help prevent them from going down the wrong study pathway should they decide to go to university.
Since 1995 Workchoice Trust has run the annual Workchoice Day programme around the country which links Year 12 and 13 students with people in their ‘dream career’ through site visits – to help them break some of the misunderstandings they may have about certain workplaces and help make well-informed decisions about their future. For example, Accor Hotels hosts students on Workchoice Day to showcase the hospitality business inside and out.
Every industry sector is covered, school registration is free and to date the programme has helped more than 155,000 students nationwide.
“With almost 40 percent of employers citing a lack of skills as the main reason for entry-level vacancies, we feel it’s vital that these two sectors [education and industry] stop operating in silos and start talking,” says Workchoice Trust CEO Amanda Wheeler. “We must acknowledge that there has been a significant disconnect between education and industry, an issue highlighted beautifully in the 2012 McKinsey Report, which found that 70 percent of businesses worldwide have no connection with education.”
The inaugural Teachers’ Workchoice Day initiative, with events held in Auckland and Christchurch in August, has also been a positive and proactive step in the right direction, she adds, “allowing for real world learning to be taken back into the classroom”.
And you can expect to see more improvements in these programmes and further developments in 2014 as the Trust seeks to reinvent itself in order to remain responsive to the needs of students and business.
The Trust is, and has always been, a business-supported initiative. Eighty percent of the not-for-profit’s funding comes from the business community (The Skills Organisation and Trade Me Jobs are major sponsors) and its ongoing supporter, founder Roger Lampen.
With funding an ongoing challenge, Wheeler says the Trust is currently reviewing how it is structured in terms of income, and how it can sustain its level of services in light of that funding.

Responsibilities in both camps
Both industry and the education sector have a responsibility to address the youth unemployment and skills shortages, says Wheeler. “The need for talent is a business need. Businesses can’t sit back and ignore the projected skills shortage or the ageing workforce, or say it’s someone else’s fault that youth don’t have the skills required.”  High schools can do a lot more to make students work ready too, she says. UK research suggests that the more access points a young person has with industry during education, the greater the chance of them being subsequently employed.
“Better career advice is crucial, especially by advisers and parents who understand where the future skills shortages will be. We would love to see every school being able to provide a mechanism to instil greater work readiness skills for these young people – help them to write excellent CVs, understand the recruitment process, how to market themselves, how to build a network, gain confidence and grab opportunities.”
Wheeler says a great example of the latter is the young Wellingtonian who strode into Trade Me on Workchoice Day, with examples of his website design skills and his own business card, and was offered an internship on the spot.
The reality out there is that employers are not hiring just on academic results she says; this was reinforced during the Teachers’ Workchoice Days. “It’s about having the right attitude, communication and soft-skills; factors that employers can go ‘wow’ about. It’s not all about getting the greatest NCEA marks; if you can’t cut it in an interview you’re still not going to get the job.”
That said, employers still want to see a driver’s licence and good scores in the basic subjects of science, English and maths, she says.
The Teachers’ Workchoice Day initiative also highlighted the education sector’s inward focus, Wheeler adds. “A lot of industry representatives at those events stressed the fact that education should view business as a key client, which for many people involves a major change of mindset.
“The reality is that one of the main goals of education should be to prepare the next generation for the workforce.”
Having the teachers connect with businesses through the programme gives them valuable real world learning too, says Wheeler, which can be taken back to the classroom.
It’s the ‘employer-hosted’ site visits which provide the most enlightenment for students, and Wheeler assures me that it’s not a big commitment for employers – just four hours of their time once a year. “It’s a great opportunity to raise their employment branding. I believe it’s an awesome demonstration of social responsibility, and long term it’s a great way to address the skills shortage in a particular industry.
“For the students the visits are all about prepping them for that first job interview. It’s all about checks and balances; a chance for them to ask ‘is this what I want to do when I leave uni?’ or ‘is this an opportunity for me when I leave school?’”

Help the cause
Wheeler reminds me that the government’s goal is to get some 70 percent of school leavers going down direct ‘vocational pathways’ to jobs or trades – rather than just heading straight to uni with no clear goals. Employers have a valuable role to play in this process.
“Young people are tech savvy, they’re motivated, they want to make a difference to an organisation,” she says. “The media and some employers might say they’re not work ready, but I argue they’re no less work ready than previous generations have been [on their first days in a job].
“When you employ a young person, you’ve got to accept that you’re partly responsible for knocking off those rough edges; you’re up for some informal coaching and mentoring. You’ve got to think about the long term effect.” Securing your labour force for the immediate future should also be a bonus for savvy business owners, she says. Her message for employers and business owners is essentially “get involved”. Workchoice Days are about attracting staff, and finding a solution to long term skills shortages. “And I really believe it’s all about ‘paying it forward’, even for SME owners, and investing in our future.”
Interested businesses can get in touch with Workchoice (workchoice.co.nz). Wheeler also suggests you organise a meeting with your local high school principal and/or careers advisor. “Let them know what you’re looking for; start bridging that gap in whatever way you can.
“It may be simply that you participate in your local school’s career evening, or speak at the senior assembly once a year. There are a lot of easy ways to get involved without tying up too much time or resources.”
She says Otorohanga is a great model of how high schools can connect with local employers, resulting in very low youth unemployment.
Wheeler is positive about the future. She’s encouraged by government initiatives to review careers advisory resources in high schools and tidy up qualification systems. The outcome of the Workchoice programmes can be immensely satisfying too. In addition to the Trade Me internship success story – there’ve been countless others, like the young student who visited Wellington’s Bay Plaza Hotel to learn about hospitality and today is a shift manager there. Workchoice also run tailored programmes for corporates – such as Microsoft (to attract more young females into IT) and Genesis. The latter’s Tekapo site is accessing local high school students in order to support its future apprenticeship programme. Workchoice is involved in setting up the relationship and helping put a programme together. “It’s a great scheme to encourage young people to stay in their local regions,” adds Wheeler.
2014 will be a landmark year for the Trust, with a proposed splitting for the Workchoice Days into separate programmes for university entrants and those going straight into the workforce – as well as other developments to ensure the Trust remains relevant to the business community.
“It’s exciting times,” says Wheeler. “Just like a business, we must ensure that we constantly fine-tune ourselves to remain relevant to our target market.”

Glenn Baker is editor of NZBusiness.