Bay residents big on job upskilling

Job upskilling is very important to Hawke's Bay workers.

Hawke's Bay workers are not constrained by early career decisions according to a survey commissioned by internet job site Seek.

Only 10 per cent of Hawke's Bay residents are working in the career they set out to, compared with the national average of almost 30 per cent. The survey, by Survey Sampling International, covered 4000 New Zealanders with data weighted to be nationally representative of age, gender, location, job status and income.

Seek New Zealand general manager Janet Faulding said the pressure for young people to choose their career by age 18 must ease "and Hawke's Bay locals are the perfect example why".

"Kiwis, particularly parents, need to wrap their head around the concept that having many jobs and careers is not a sign of their child's inability to settle down, or make up their mind, and certainly doesn't give indication to the likelihood of their career success," she said. "Businesses value innovative and fresh thinking and having a broad base of experience equips us with this capability."

The same survey revealed 96 per cent of Hawke's Bay residents participated in a tertiary course or degree compared with the national average of 76 per cent", she said.

"For many, learning doesn't stop at graduation, with 41 per cent of Hawke's Bay residents continuing to upskill during their career ... As the industries and economies we work in evolve, we need to ensure we develop the skills to evolve with it.

"Career change goes hand in hand with continued learning, so it's unsurprising the majority of Kiwis are upskilling beyond their initial tertiary education. What is interesting is that two thirds of us believe that learning on the job is where we learnt our most valuable skills. So to be experiencing different jobs can be one of the most effective ways to broaden and increase your skill set.

"My advice to parents is to encourage your child to make the most of each workplace they enter. It is through turning up to work highly engaged, asking questions and putting their hand up to take on new responsibilities and opportunities that they'll understand their strengths and weaknesses and gain those important soft skills.

"It is this attitude that will set them up for good career opportunities as they progress."