CAREER PATHWAYS
Our dedicated career guidance team supports our students in making decisions about their future study and employment pathways including coordinating work experience placements for students.
Book a meeting with a careers counsellor
You can book a meeting with our careers counsellor here or contact them at careers@mtaspiring.school.nz or 03 443 0499 (ext 250).
Visit the MAC CareerWise website
Visit our CareerWise website to find information about future study including visits, events and application timelines as well as employment pathways and opportunities.
Work experience opportunities
Work experience offers many benefits, including:
- improving a student’s chances of finding a job (employers prefer to hire people who have experience in the workplace)
- increasing a student’s chances of securing ongoing employment
- helping a student decide whether or not a job or industry is right for them
- providing useful information about other types of jobs a student may not have considered
- giving students a chance to study for NCEA and tertiary credits if they do work experience programmes such as Gateway.
Who to talk to about doing work experience
Students who are interested in doing work experience should contact our career guidance team.
Employers wanting to offer work experience
If you are a local employer and would like to host a MAC student for work experience, please complete and submit this form or contact our Careers Office at careers@mtaspiring.school.nz or 034430499 (ext 250).
Job opportunities
There is a range of places where we recommend students look to find out about local job opportunities, including:
* Employer job listings for students
* MAC school newsletter
* The Messenger
* The Wānaka App
* The Wānaka Sun
* ‘New World’ jobs noticeboard
* community forums on Facebook.
Employers wanting to offer students a job
If you are a local employer and have a job you would like to advertise to our students, please complete and submit this form or contact our Careers Office at careers@mtaspiring.school.nz or 034430499 (Ext 250).
Resources
Information sessions and events
There are many valuable information sessions and events available for our students and their parents and caregivers to attend to learn more about career and learning pathways, including:
- university and polytechnic information sessions and course planning (held at MAC)
- MAC’s annual showcases of its subject offerings and career and learning pathways (known as the Option Evening)
- visits from industry representatives, including the Defence Force
industry events and showcases, including Girls with Hi-Vis®.
Please visit our Calendar of Events page to find out about upcoming career information sessions and events.
Scholarships
There is a range of scholarships available to our students to assist them with future study at tertiary institutions. MAC offers several scholarships which are awarded at prize-givings at the end of the year. In addition, our senior students can apply for a number of scholarships provided by external organisations. The most prominent of these come from universities across New Zealand, the Otago Polytechnic, the Central Lakes Trust, Rotary, and the Masonic Lodge. Below are some sites where students can find out more about scholarships they may be interested in applying for:
New Zealand university scholarships
Tertiary Education Commission’s careers site
MoneyHub NZ scholarship directory
StudySpy’s database of scholarships
Scholarships for Māori learners
Scholarships for Pacific learners
New Zealand Qualifications Authority scholarships
Students who are interested in applying for a scholarship should contact our career guidance team.
Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR) funding
Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource (STAR) funding supports students to explore career pathways to help them make informed decisions about their schooling and future work, study or training. This funding can pay for students to undertake courses that give them a taste of what it’s like to study at a tertiary level. This knowledge can help students plan their career pathways.
Some examples of STAR-funded courses include tourism and travel, cafe barista, ski instructing, first aid, beauty therapy, and radio broadcasting.
To apply for STAR funding, please complete this form. Students are also welcome to book a meeting with our careers counsellor to talk about applying for STAR funding.
The Career Central Bulls-Eye quiz can help you match your talents and interests with future pathways.
A CV enables you to show a prospective employer what skills, knowledge and experience you have and demonstrate how you are the right person for a job. These tools can help you when creating your CV and writing a cover letter for your job applications.
Search for a course or training provider
Polytechnics
- Ara (Christchurch)
- Otago Polytechnic (Dunedin and Central)
- Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (Nelson)
- Tai Poutini (Greymouth)
- Southern Institute of Technology (Invercargill and Queenstown)
- Unitec (Auckland)
- Open Polytechnic (Distance)
- Whitireia-Weltec (Wellington)
Private training providers
Visit StudySpy to find a list of providers.
Te Pukenga: vocational training and apprenticeships
Discover learning options across Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology’s network of Institutes of Technology, Polytechnics and Industry Training Organisations who have come together as one – Te Pūkenga.
Many students take a gap year at the end of Year 13. It can be a great opportunity to earn some money for tertiary study, gain work experience or see the world. Here are some options available during a gap year:
