Get a Life highlights Waikato career choices

Get a Life highlights career choices in the Waikato

Waikato people unsure of their future direction are being targeted by Get a Life - a month-long event focusing on careers – that kicks off in early May.

Steering Group member Megan Smith from The Career Company said Get a Life had several aims.

“We want to increase awareness of the current skills needs in the Waikato and let people know that our region has a huge range of career opportunities now and in the future.”

Get a Life is aimed at people at all ages and stages of their career,” says Megan Smith. “Career information is often seen as for ‘young people’, but we face important career decisions at every stage of life. The economic crisis has forced change on many people over the last 18 months, and it is critical that we have the skills and knowledge to ‘bounce back’.

Career decision making can seem daunting, says Megan Smith. “Young people especially can feel under pressure to make decisions that will set the directions of their lives. Career decisions are often made with incomplete information, as people don’t always access all the support and services available.”

She says Get a Life will highlight that there are resources and support available to people when they make career choices. “It’s all there, if they know where to look. We hope Get a Life will help people understand where to go when they need help or advice.”

Among a wide range of activities on offer are workshops for Parents to help Teenagers make good decisions, Open Days at the University of Waikato and Literacy Waikato, Career Days for Law, Engineering, Fashion and Hospitality, and the Workchoice Day, which is a chance for Year 12 students from around Waikato to see industries in action.

Get a Life culminates with Career Paths Waikato Expo 2010, a two-day comprehensive career exhibition which is the most important event in Waikato’s education, industry training, employment and career development calendar.

Full details of events – including dates and venues - are available from www.getalifewaikato.co.nz

Megan Smith says Get a Life is a collaborative event which has been made possible by financial and other support from a diverse range of organisations. They include the Mayors’ Taskforce for Jobs, Wintec, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, Opportunity Hamilton, the Radio Network, the Waikato Enterprise Agency, the Career Development Association of New Zealand, and Career Services

ENDS

© Scoop Media