Youth putting best foot forward at 'Upgrade with a Trade' event in Rotorua

Local students and employers during the the first Upgrade with a Trade event earlier this year. Photo / Supplied

Young people will be connecting with employers and exploring opportunities in a variety of industries at an upcoming event.

The Upgrade with a Trade careers event is being held on September 18 at the Rotorua Youth Centre.

Following the success of the first Upgrade with a Trade event in April this year, the September event gives high school students the opportunity to meet face-to-face with Rotorua employers.

The initiative is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education, Got a Trade? Got it Made! and Rotorua Community Youth Centre Trust – a delivery partner for YouthHub (a free online platform that links youth with potential employers).

The April event had more than 70 young people from various Rotorua district schools "speed meet" with 12 employers during the course of the day.

Students had the opportunity to hear about industries they were interested in, offer their CV and express their interest in jobs, apprenticeships and work experience.

The event includes speed meets, where students meet each employer for an 'express' interview.

At the end of each interview, students will note whether they are interested in exploring a career opportunity with that employer.

At the same time, the employer will also note the names of students they are keen to provide with opportunities.

After the event, the students and employers are 'matched'. If both parties want to meet again, students may receive an offer of work experience, training, apprenticeship or potential employment.

"Upgrade with a Trade is a fantastic opportunity not only to connect our Rotorua youth to training, work experience and job opportunities, but also to show the opportunities that exist and help young people understand how they can transition, with support, into a viable career," Rotorua Youth Centre Trust chairman John McRae says.

"It operates alongside the other employment and life-skills oriented programmes we run, and the navigation support we provide, to help youth into employment.

"We're getting some good results for both young people and employers and this event will be an extension of that, so we're really pleased to be partnering with the Ministry of Education on this," John says.

For more information on the event or if you are a Rotorua youth (15 to 24 years) and are looking for support into employment, call (07) 343 1012 or email manager@rotoruayouthcentre.org.