Canterbury Pacific Students Find Inspiration At SPACPAC Expo

Hundreds of Pacific secondary school ākonga (students) have poured off buses buzzing with excitement for the annual sPacifically Pacific (sPACPAC) careers expo held at the Ara | Te Pūkenga city campus.

Ākonga from 21 Canterbury schools were given the opportunity to learn more about options beyond their school years from tertiary education providers, industry, service and government organisations.

The main event on the sPACPAC calendar, held at Ara for the fourth time, provided them with a chance to meet and engage with future employers, build their network and learn more about different fields beyond secondary school.

Ara’s Director of Pacific Achievement Sua Tauti said it was exciting to play a major role in driving the sPACPAC events from a strategic and operational level "which benefits our secondary students in multiple ways".

"Our whareora provides an excellent location for this sPACPAC event and while we provide that practical support, we also have the opportunity to warmly welcome students here onto our campus where we’d like them to feel at home."

That welcome was in full force with Elevate Pacific mentors and tutors on hand to talk through Ara’s unique formula for supporting every student at every step as they make the transition from school into further learning.

"Our culture is to nurture and strengthen our Pacific students and the expo gives us an opportunity to showcase how we do that in practice," Tauti said. "This year around 90 new students have been paired with their own mentor who can guide them and check in to ensure they are growing in confidence. We find once they have experienced that level of support, many are then ready to pay that forward and become mentors and inspire others themselves."

Hornby High School teacher Uai Liu, who brought almost 50 students from the school’s Pacific programme to the event, said it aligned with their goals.

"It’s great to see the students mixing and interacting with others. A key skill we want to develop is the ability to network and create relationships across the board and to know what's out there to support them when they want to leave school," Liu said.

"It’s really good for them to be able to see what life is like outside of secondary school and it helps them build character as well," he added.

Ākonga enjoyed getting hands on with activities from architecture and trades to business and nursing. Many left with their hands full of guides, brochures and gifts.

Among the crowd, Rawiri, a Year 12 from Te Aratai College, said he’d enjoyed the experience and found it helpful learning about possible career pathways. "I found out lots about business and university options," he said.

Levei, a year 12 from Villa Maria College, said she thought she had an idea about what she wanted to do but found a raft of new options to think about after her day at the expo. "I’m glad I came because now I have a lot of information about student finances and the scholarships I can apply for," she said.

Many said they were looking forward to having the chance to explore the Ara campus further and try new things in two weeks’ time during the free holiday programme, Pacific Bloom.

"It’s a great opportunity to celebrate Pacific culture, get some study advice, try out tasters of some of Ara’s unique courses and find career inspiration," Tauti explained. "There’s a live-in option for Year 11 to 13 students, but all are welcome from Year 9 to come and enjoy some free food, tutoring, giveaways and time out," he said.

More information on Pacific Bloom can be found here: Pacific Bloom 2023 - Ara

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