3 November 2015

Education the Ticket to Wellingtonian Career Progression

New research released by SEEK New Zealand reveals Wellingtonians have the largest desire for upskilling across the country. Seventy per cent of those in the Capital have upskilled during their career, the largest percentage of any region in the country and given just 18 per cent of Wellingtonians are working in the job they set out to, it would suggest that career changes have driven this additional learning.

These statistics show that one career for a lifetime is no longer the norm and many of the 60,000 young Kiwi adults sitting NCEA at the end of this week can take comfort in the imminent decision to decide on a career path will not dictate their next forty years of work life.

“The pressure to define your career at 18 must ease and Wellingtonians are the perfect example why,” states Janet Faulding, General Manager of SEEK New Zealand.

“Kiwi’s, particularly parents, need to wrap their head around the concept that having many jobs and careers is not a sign of their child’s inability to settle down, or make up their mind, and certainly doesn’t give indication to the likelihood of their career success. Businesses value innovative and fresh thinking and having a broad base of experience equips us with this capability”.

By working in a range of organisations across a range of industries we expose ourselves to
diverse tools and technologies, and new industry and business disciplines. This provides the opportunity to develop a highly valued skill set of; responsiveness, agility and resilience. It is these types of non-technical skills that are particularly appealing to employers.

By thinking of further learning less as defining your career and more as a chance for young adults to mature, develop skills such as critical thinking, researching, negotiation and team work New Zealanders will be more aligned to the reality of tertiary education’s role.

The same research revealed that 76 per cent of us seek further learning after school by participating in a course or degree. For many, learning doesn’t stop at graduation, with over 60 per cent of Kiwis continuing to upskill during their career, showing the importance of life-long learning to ensure we remain relevant to the workplace. As the industries and economies we work in evolve, we need to ensure we develop the skills to evolve with it.

“Career change goes hand in hand with continued learning, so it’s unsurprising the majority of Kiwis are upskilling beyond their initial tertiary education. What is interesting is that two thirds of us believe that learning on the job is where we learnt our most valuable skills. So to be experiencing different jobs can be one of the most effective ways to broaden and increase your skill set.

“My advice to parents is to encourage your child to make the most of each workplace they enter in even if it may not be their “dream job”. It is through turning up to work highly engaged, asking questions and putting their hand up to take on new responsibilities and opportunities that they’ll understand their strengths and weaknesses and gain those important soft skills. It is this attitude that will set them up for good career opportunities as they progress. Ms Faulding concludes.

To understand where the most opportunity is currently available in New Zealand, these are the industries where the most jobs have been advertised on SEEK, New Zealand’s largest employment market place, to date this year.

1. Information and Communication Technology
2. Trades and Services
3. Sales

ends

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