Vocational Pathways / Careers

At the College we offer many exciting opportunities from forklift courses to work experience at a variety of local businesses.

Futures Academy

Students who are in year 12 and 13 can select to attend Hairdressing or Auto Engineering courses in Whakatane one or two days per week. These courses are through Futures Academy and are only offered to students who have career aspirations in beauty or car mechanics.

Applications to Futures Academy are made during subject selection in Term 3.

The Futures Academy is also running the Ringa Raupa building academy which involves students in years 12 or 13 working on site five days per week. They have built and relocated several houses which were purchased by Kianga Ora and now house Opotiki locals.

Gateway Program

Students from year 12 and 13 can enrol in the Gateway Program which provides the opportunity to do some work experience. The placements can be one day per week, after school or in the holidays. This is determined by the employer and the student. The students can gain extra credits and certificates from forklift licenses, Health & Safety qualifications and Customer Services. Work experience placement can be in hospitality, early childhood, agriculture, retail or the social services sector. If a student has a passion for a job we can try to fix up some work experience in that area.

Drive the Thrive

We are thankful for funding from the Opotiki District Council to help subsidize our Drive to thrive program. This enables us to help students gain their learner licenses. We work closely with East Bay REAP to provide driving lessons and help with obtaining their restricted licenses. Nams our driving instructor has nerves of steel and the patience of a saint. Students who have been driving for 6 months or more are invited to take a defensive driving course. This year we have partnered with Exceed Driving and ten students have just completed the defensive driving course with Nick.

Careers Advice

All staff at the College are able to help students with their career aspirations whether it is to get a job, an apprenticeship, diploma or university degree. Both Mrs Waller and whaea Mira are experienced in providing assistance for further education applications, Study Link, MyIR or scholarships. The new careers website Tahatu Career Navigator provides lots of information and a great starting point for students who have no clue what they want to do once they leave the College. There is also the old Careers website which has some great resources to start planning your pathway from kura into mahi. The Mymahi website provides tools and resources to help with writing a CV or preparing for an interview. Any whanau or students wanting help with career pathways can contact Mrs Waller for an interview alisonw@opotikicol.school.nz