How can teachers support young people in thinking about and crafting these pathways? Over the period of their working lives, there is a high likelihood that young people will seek (or be required) to develop in changing occupations, to move into many (possibly different) jobs at different times in life, and to manage learning opportunities or requirements (at tertiary institutions, in the workplace) throughout life. In such a dynamic environment, when the jobs in which many young people will be employed don’t yet exist, is it possible to talk about ‘future-proofing’? Fortunately the answer is ‘yes, at least to a certain extent’. Over the last four years, the Education Employment Linkages Research Group has been exploring the question: How can support systems in schools and elsewhere help young people to make good education-employment linkages that will have on-going benefits for them, as well as for their communities and New Zealand as a whole? In this article we discuss some of the work arising from the School-Communities strand of EEL, focusing on research that has relevance for subject teachers, such as teachers of English, in secondary schools. We examine the potential of career management competencies to help young people with decisions and actions throughout their lives that will be meaningful, intelligent, and in keeping with their own values, interests and priorities.
Published in English in Aotearoa. 75 (October). pp.27-30