Challenges facing today’s job seekers and school leavers
Whether it’s getting a job, buying a house or listening to the latest music trends, each generation has probably rattled off the same statement ‘in my day…’. It would be fair to say that the world does change dramatically for each generation, but the speed at which the twenty-first century has evolved has seen changes that would have been impossible to predict. Changes to both education and work have been dramatically affected by technology, globalisation, job and salary expectations and, of course, Covid-19.
What it looks like for school leavers and job seekers in New Zealand today challenges what it looked like for the same people just three years ago, so how do we support leavers and job seekers into work when so much has changed.
Training, camps and immersive learning to get a taste for something new
Meeting the needs of the job market can be difficult to foresee, but no one is more equipped for that role than industry players. As political and economic landscapes evolve so does education and training to meet those evolutionary demands. Training programmes need to fit the market so graduates have jobs available to walk into.
Agri Training has a primary focus on employment outcomes and meeting the demand of industry. It’s not just about delivery training, it is teaming up with recruitment partners, government and industry to identify the employment gaps and design course programmes to help meet those requirements. The Agri Training Rural Retraining Foundation Programme was set up to meet the demands of the market and has seen success after success as misconception about industry changes and trainees walk out of the training and into employment (Farmers Weekly, 2021).
Agri Training is not the only industry player working in partnerships, it is becoming the new norm. As Marlborough experiences a glut in jobs but a scarcity of skilled and unskilled workers, industry and government have stepped in to help train local New Zealanders into employment (Stuff, 2021). Making it clear that training to work helps trainees leave education to step into actual employment, no false promises of big salaries and executive roles. Real training, real outcomes, real jobs.
How do you decide which training is the right one to fit your needs?
If you are not sure what you would like to do but know you are interested in a particular sector try a taster. Residential programmes and camps can help you decide if it’s the right kind of industry for you by creating immersive learning opportunities – venturing outside of your own environment and fully immersing yourself in something new.
Training facilities such as Agri Training run programmes to suit all levels of skill, interest and age appropriateness. For a school leaver or a soon to be school leaver something like Ag Camp Holiday Programme may be the right choice. Offering a fun interactive programme which develops skills and provides a taste of what life on farm is really like.
For someone who has worked in other careers but would like to give the primary industries the Rural Retraining Foundation Programme offers an online insight into the industry before providing a 13-day residential training where trainees get hands-on practical experience and are then introduced to recruitment partners such as Agstaff and New Zealand Dairy Careers to find work in the industry.
What about if you know what you want to do?
Again, industry can work to support the trainee. Practical pathways to industry success are developed to reach all types of learners and while immersive learning gives the trainee the opportunity to work in a new environment, a longer term programme may become experiential as trainees complete tasks in the real world of work.
You may know what you want to do, but need a hand getting into a job and developing your skills to have them recognised. If it’s viticulture or agriculture the Agri Training 40-week Transition to Primary Industries Programme provides an immersive programme where you are working while learning. A programme that has a 50/50 split of theory and practical learning, but a programme which is live in, high intensity training to develop professionalism, teamwork and sets you up ready to walk into the industry with a recognised skill set.
Education and training is evolving to meet the needs of both individuals and the industries trying to meet the demands of a new world.