Career Adventure For Central NI Teenagers

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CAREER ADVENTURE FOR CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND TEENAGERS

Eight blind and sight-impaired central North Island teenagers will be spending some of their school holidays learning how to find a job in the 'real world' by taking part in a "career adventure" being held in Taupo from 6 to 8 July.

The adventure, organised through the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind's Peer Support Project, aims to equip the teenagers with some of the skills they will need to develop careers after they complete their secondary school education.

"This course is an excellent way of getting vital information across to our secondary school students," says adventure co- ordinator and Peer Support Project Manager, Peter Madden.

"We've discovered, from trial and error, that we reach more students if we combine the mental adventure of planning and thinking about the future with the real adventure of getting out there and doing something that stretches the students physically as well."

With this balance in mind, the three-day course includes workshop sessions with career counsellors as well as extreme adventure like rockwall climbing and a ride on the Huka jet boat.

"Many blind and sight-impaired teenagers find thinking about future work and tertiary study options overwhelming," says Mr Madden.

"Their self-confidence is not always very high and often they are so focused on managing in the present they do not think about planning for the future.

"But once they realise that they are capable of much more than they give themselves credit for - a whole world of opportunity opens up for them.

"Then we start to hear about their dreams and we can work with them to explore the best ways of supporting them to reach those goals."

There are more "career adventure" courses planned for blind and sight-impaired students in the North Island later this year.

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