Career activities for the classroom, Ngā ngohe aramahi mō te akomanga

Career advisers in schools may be the career specialists, but career education is a whole-of-school responsibility. Educators play an important role in supporting students to explore the world of work and learning, grow their self-awareness and make informed decisions about courses and careers.

Evidence shows that giving students opportunities to explore different types of work, meet role models and connect their school subject to jobs people do, makes a difference to their engagement with school, and their post-school pathways.

Having career conversations that matter

By building career education activities into your subject area you’re helping students to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to make positive career decisions throughout their lives.

Career activities in the classroom aim to:

• Encourage exploration and curiosity.
• Highlight a wide range of opportunities for all students.
• Connect to students’ interests and strengths.
• Show the connection between their school subjects and future possibilities.
• Identify and use personal skills as well as develop useful strategies to help them find a job, eg, how to write a CV.

Activities can vary in length and type, be stand-alone or part of the wider curriculum. They will ideally complement the wider career education plan your school will have and the work of your careers team.

How to write a career education plan

Career activities can be incorporated in simple ways. For example:

• complete the Tahatū Interest Quiz with your students
• host an Inspiring the Future event with role models
• create a careers corner in the classroom – include posters and resources
• talk about your own career pathway into teaching
• ask the school careers adviser about expos or related careers events that students could attend
• plan a class visit to the library to research related careers
• have students make their own CV and apply for a real or fictional job
• start a living document that includes media and links to podcasts, articles, websites and videos related to your preferred subject.

Tahatū Interest Quiz

Inspiring the Future

How to write a CV