Frequently Asked Questions
The following questions have been selected to represent common enquiries about the Career Passport. They are grouped roughly according to their main focus: Origin and Purpose, Education and General.
Origin and Purpose.
1. Why has the Young New Zealanders Foundation produced Career Passport to Success?
2. What do you want to achieve through this programme?
3. Why do you constantly refer to “keen and willing” - Why not all young people?
4. How will doing Career Passport benefit my son/daughter?
5. In what ways are employers likely to value Career Passport to Success?
Education
2. Why not leave it to schools to teach about careers?
General
2. Why do you need donations for this programme? Why isn't it paid for by government?
Origin and Purpose
1. Why has the Young New Zealanders Foundation produced Career Passport to Success?
- The Young New Zealanders Foundation believes it is critical that our young people are given every opportunity to prepare themselves for the job market. Many young people fall short of their own hopes and what others expect of them. This is a loss to them as well as to the nation.
- Career Passport has been designed to be used in conjunction with school programmes and in-service training in the work-place, as well as for individual use at home or under the guidance of a mentor or counsellor.
- It is one among many resources the Foundation has produced to empower young people and to pass on skills and experience which will benefit the individual as well as the whole country.
2. What do you want to achieve through this programme?
- Career Passport to Success has been designed with a three fold purpose in mind: to increase a young person's chances of (a) making the right career choice, (b) actually getting into a career of choice, and then, (c) succeeding in it. This will in turn minimise the number of youth who experience long-term joblessness or poor career outcomes.
- Our Foundation is committed to helping individuals as well as our nation succeed in a world of many global uncertainties. In fact we have adopted three associated aims:
- No Young Person left behind!
- Liberating the Potential of Young People!
- Our Young People ~ Our Future!
3. Why do you constantly refer to the "keen and willing" - Why not all young people?
- It is good to give incentives to people of any age to achieve certain targets. We all benefit from such motivation. Career Passport to Success definitely motivates some young people to go all-out to make a success of their lives. However, if a person can't be bothered making an effort to organise themselves to get ahead, they may well find no one else is prepared to make the effort to motivate them. It's too much like pushing up-hill with the brakes on!
- Having said that, our experience has shown that young people sometimes don't appear particularly enthusiastic when, in fact, they lack the confidence to do the things Career Passport involves them in. This programme gets them thinking and acting quite skillfully and confidently.
- Career Passport guides a person through a series of essential skill-development exercises in such a way that they often blossom even before completing the programme.
- So back to the question: what is so important about being "keen and willing"? Well, let's put the emphasis on the "willing" element, and help them "get their teeth into it". In most cases their enthusiasm, confidence and mental clarity will increase as they go. And it will be a joy to watch.
4. How will Career Passport benefit my son/daughter?
There are many possibilities!
- As said elsewhere, the Career Passport to Success offers young people the chance to prove themselves to themselves. It is a step into the adult world of actually managing your own future instead of just drifting.
- It can help young people who have slipped behind or not progressed adequately in employment skill-development to recover and regain hope for the future.
- In doing Career Passport to Success, a number of valuable skills are picked up without the young person realising it. Even if they have done something similar before, it can help them "hone up" essential skills when getting ready for an interview.
- Many of the best opportunities to get ahead crop up unexpectedly. You need to be ready if you want to be selected. Career Passport helps young people seek out the right opening for them.
- Career Passport to Success enables young people to try for jobs and careers they might otherwise think are beyond them.
- The programme prepares them for future competition. There is a paradox in the employment market, especially during times of global unrest: it's scary out there but there is no need to be frightened. The young people who consciously do their best in a methodical way to prepare for a career of their choice are most likely to find their niche and be successful in it.
- A number of adults who have worked through Career Passport with their sons or daughters were amazed at how much they learnt themselves. It helped them appreciate the levels of skill needed if one is to be given a career opportunity beyond very basic-type jobs.
5. In what ways are employers likely to value Career Passport to Success?
- One of the original reasons for the formation of this programme was a formal request from a large association of commercial organisations to develop a programme or resource to help young people be better equipped to make the transition from school, technical institute or university into full-time employment. From its very inception, therefore, Career Passport had a practical focus to help get young people where they wanted to be, i.e. to help them reach their goal. We believe that any young person completing this programme will be better prepared to enter the workforce and make a valued contribution.
- Employers have found that young people who complete a self-managed programme of skill assessment and development are generally among the more likely to persevere in a new job and make the best progress. Such young people are therefore keenly sought after by employers!
Education
1. Don't schools already do something similar to Career Passport to Success as a classroom programme? Is this duplication?
- No, Career Passport to Success is not a duplication of something already in existence. It complements a number of other initiatives currently available for young people.
- Yes, some schools put some of their students through an extensive programme with an employment focus. However it is quite a different classroom based course.
- Career Passport can be very beneficial to students who did such a scheme at school, when, at a later stage, they need to "brush up" their skills. It is a digest of preparation for new employment; easy to pick up and revisit whenever needed. It is therefore ideal to help them make the most of the valuable training they received at school at a later time when they need the skills most.
- Career Passport gives young people what is often their first opportunity to self-manage a career enhancement programme. It is therefore a vital link between close classroom supervision and adult self-motivation and self directed action.
- Most skills taught in school employment-orientated programmes require on-going practice. A non-swimmer can't expect to read the very best manual on how to swim and then jump into the water and swim! As in all programmes of learning, skills need to be used in different situations and contexts. Only then can top performance be achieved.
2. Why not leave it to schools to teach about careers?
- Career Passport, while clearly focusing mainly on enhancing employment prospects, also prepares young people to achieve in other fields of endeavour. So it is not just about getting a job.
- Most schools have a Careers Adviser and Career Passport has been designed in part to support and expand on the work they do.
- The fact remains that many students who don't receive formal classroom training in personal preparation for a job interview etc, would benefit from Career Passport. This programme is relatively short, to the point and yet challenging.
- Career Passport can be visited time and time again as needed, and provides a good starting point if a young person later wants to advance these power-packed performance-skills to higher levels.
3. Does Career Passport to Success have to be done as part of school? Can it be done in small groups elsewhere?
- Career Passport, while suitable as a classroom resource, was designed to be used on a much wider basis. It can therefore be used in a one-to-one basis at home, as well as in groups of young people in any situation where a leader is helping the members work through the activities.
- Plenty of young people like to do things such as Career Passport entirely self-directed. The web site associated with the programme enables participants to move at their own pace according to other commitments and pressures. Career Passport is serious stuff, but it is fun to do!
General
1. I intend to donate to this programme as long as it reaches the young people who need it, or deserve it. How will I know what progress is being made?
- Like all good programmes which are successful, Career Passport to Success continues to evolve and expand its services and outreach. We will try to keep our web site as up to date as possible to reflect what is actually taking place in the community.
- Supporters are informed on a half-yearly basis about what is being achieved in a Foundation newsletter or broadsheet.
2. Why do you need donations for this programme? Why isn't it paid for by government?
- If Government financed every good scheme in our country we could well end up paying a lot more in taxation.
- The Foundation depends on public support for its continued work. We do not receive any financial grants from Government. Fortunately a large number of New Zealanders donate to our campaigns and want to ensure they continue to benefit our youth.
3. I've watched my grandson work his way through this programme and I was amazed at how enthusiastic he became, the further he went. It's obvious it has a strong appeal to young people. What is the secret of its success?
- We sometimes look at the world our young people have to make their way in and feel glad it's not ourselves starting again. But they are much more pragmatic and not only accept it but face it with great vigour and vitality. Those who are ready for the challenge want to be up-skilled and toughened up for the inevitable stresses of transition into advanced education or the work-force. Career Passport engenderes a spirit of calm self-assurance, lifts their sights and launches them into a future of their choice and making.
- While they are working through the activities in the programme they actually start to understand better just who they are and "how they tick".
- Several young people have commented that the programme helped them to understand better how they learn and as a result saw changes they needed to make to improve their storage and use of knowledge. This is invaluable. The young person who has this experience is well on the way to success.
4. What if young people can't afford to participate in the Career Passport scheme? Will they miss out?
- The Young New Zealanders Foundation aims at an ambitious target:
"No Young Person Left Behind!"
Our commitment is to help keen and willing young people to succeed. - Availability depends somewhat on public support. Most of our supporters are happy for their donation to be spent in any part of New Zealand. We respect the requests of those who ask for their donation to be used in a specific area; that is their prerogative and our obligation. But our programmes are for all Kiwi young people and we try to target where the help is needed and where it will be put to best use.
- With access to the Internet, Career Passport can be done anywhere. Young New Zealanders anywhere in the country can therefore participate in Career Passport. Personal finances do not need to prevent anyone being part of the scheme.
5. My daughter found it really interesting. Is there a follow-up programme for those who wish to become even more skilled and really go for their goal?
- Career Passport is, in a way, a family of resources. It is a "living" programme with more units on the planning board even as we write.
- We consciously avoid "re-inventing the wheel", or duplicating services other organisations so generously and skillfully provide. Career Passport will often steer young people towards some of these other excellent programmes as and when appropriate.
- Career Passport and associated modules can be used in a wide variety of contexts and combinations including youth camps and personal extension / challenge projects.
6. I wish this had been around when I was thinking about a career. How will young people know about it and get the chance to benefit from it?
- As funds become available the programme will continue to be offered as widely as possible through a range of media.
- Career Passport would make an excellent gift to any young person wanting to shape up for a career move. Some young people are given it by perceptive grandparents who gently lead them on towards new goals and ambitions. It can be completed quite successfully by a person working with the manual and using the web site referred to.