Vocational Pathways to make NCEA more unstandable
Vocational Pathways to make NCEA more unstandable for
Employers and Students
Learning will become more
relevant, students more work-ready and employers will better
understand the NCEA system with the help of Vocational
Pathways, says Industry Training Federation Chief Executive
Mark Oldershaw.
Launched today by Ministers Steven
Joyce and Hekia Parata, Vocational Pathways will be
introduced across New Zealand secondary schools next year.
Vocational Pathways is unique in that it utilises the
existing NCEA system in a way provides broad vocational and
academic pathways for secondary school students at NCEA
Level 2 that are recognised and valued by
employers.
“Vocational Pathways will make a real
difference for students, employers, education, and the
economy,” says Mark Oldershaw. “The concept of
Vocational Pathways was developed by the industry training
sector in response to requests for school leavers to be
better prepared for working life. The industry training
sector has since worked in partnership with the Ministry of
Education to develop the pathways, and is committed to
ensuring a sucessful roll out”
“Many young people lose interest in education because they see it as boring and irrelevant,” says Mark. “This is about linking education to the real world beyond the classroom, and keeping young people interested. Students will be given clear options based on the future they see themselves in and employers will have a better understanding of the relevance of the study undertaken by potential employees.”
Vocational
Pathways are currently grouped into five selected areas
identified by employers: Manufacturing andTechnology;
Construction and Infrastructure; Primary Industries; Service
Industries; and Social and Community
Services.
Students will not be limited to one pathway,
however they will better understand the context of their
learning, what they need to know and why. And employers will
connect with schools and tertiary institutions to ensure the
learning is relevant.
“It makes a lot of sense for
employers to have a stake in that learning pathway,” says
Mark. “Employers tell us they need to know future
employees are work-ready, with the right knowledge, skills,
and values.
“We know that Vocational Pathways will
not result in every secondary school student having the
skills that employers want, but it is definitely a step in
the right direction. For Vocational Pathways to succeed we
need employers, secondary schools, whanau and the community
to embrace the concept and apply it to their specific
context.
“The industry training sector is excited
about this boost to industry and the skilled workforce – a
workforce that is qualified and ready to meet the needs of
our
community.”
ENDS