The Programme
Employers
What is Work Inspiration?
Work Inspiration is tailored to suit your work environment and industry. You’ll have a small group of students spending around three days in your workplace, experiencing the roles and career pathways you have to offer. It will be exciting, hands-on, fun and inspiring for everyone.
Careers New Zealand will support you to develop and deliver the programme.
How does it work?
We give you an employers’ toolkit including a How-to Guide and student workbook templates to help you manage your Work Inspiration programme.
Find out all the details in our information booklet:
What do employers do?
- Deliver the programme for students at your workplace
- Ensure the programme highlights what you want students to see in your industry
- Champion Work Inspiration with your staff
- Adapt resources for your purposes, including adding your branding
- Set up the programme and delegate tasks to staff
- Select student tasks and projects
- Evaluate the programme and review with Careers New Zealand.
What does Careers New Zealand do?
- Brokers relationship with schools and supports student selection
- Works with you to develop and deliver your programme
- Explains your roles and responsibilities
- Undertakes evaluation and quality assurance
- Supplies programme resources for you to print off
- Discusses health and safety with you
- Provides a professional development workshop for your staff.
Programme stages
There are three Work Inspiration Insights:
- All about me
Kick off by building rapport and trust with students through a personality quiz and conversations that showcase their talents, passion and interests. - Look behind the scenes
This is about making students aware of the wider opportunities available in your industry. The personality profile enables you to match student personality profiles with roles in your business. - Careers happen
Students interview employees and create a career board – a visual representation of that staff member’s journey. This insight illustrates the way careers unfold. It also teaches students the value of being resilient and adaptable in navigating a successful career in the changing world of work.
The Work Inspiration workbooks
Filling out a workbook with a buddy helps encourage self-awareness and gives the students an understanding of their strengths.
Real-life tasks and teamwork
Find real-life tasks that get students to think about your business priorities, whether that be good customer service or hands-on activities. Hands-on activities bring your workplace to life for the students.
Student-led projects and presentations
Assign the students a project they can really own and be proud of completing. This is then presented at the closing celebration event. For example:
- Toyota asked students to consider what their dealership could look like in 2020 to meet customer needs.
- A construction company asked students to work as a team to design a sustainable school.
Setting the scene
Before the programme starts, you will run a ‘Setting the Scene’ session at your business or the school, where you’ll talk with students, their parents and school staff about your business and the programme.
The celebration ceremony
You will also run a post-programme celebration event that will include students, their parents, whānau, school staff and your staff. Employees and students receive certificates and exchange their highlights and learnings over the last few days.
Download our employer flyers to share with your colleagues
- Work Inspiration - flyer (PDF - 713KB)
- How Work Inspiration works - booklet (PDF - 885KB)
- The value to your business - flyer (PDF - 83KB)
Schools
How does Work Inspiration benefit schools and students?
Schools told us they noticed:
- more inspired, motivated students
- increased engagement from students towards their chosen subjects, their peers in group work assignments, and with teachers
- greater engagement with their local employers, communities and families.
Students commented that they:
- developed an understanding of career pathways and the choices they have
- developed a greater knowledge of the world of work
- gained greater confidence in a workplace environment and could recognise post-school work opportunities
- gained well-developed employability skills, particularly teamwork and communication
- had increased motivation for their studies.
How is Work Inspiration different from other types of work experience?
Work Inspiration complements other programmes like STAR and Gateway, which help to improve outcomes for students. However, Work Inspiration is unique in that it provides students with a genuine connection to the working world – inspiring and motivating them through career conversations and active engagement with employers and employees.
Download our schools flyer to share with your colleagues and students
All of the students gained a passion for our business, understood the depth of various roles – including non-customer-facing positions that they would never have considered prior to the programme – and now find themselves considering our industry as a serious career choice.