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Careers in the trades and technical and associated professions get the thumbs up by 16-year-old students according to a survey of around 500 young people by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER).
Fourteen percent of the young New Zealanders surveyed aspire to a trades career - equal to the number who said they would prefer a career in management. The technician and associated professional category was the strongest preference at 61 percent.
The young people surveyed typically identified two or three kinds of career that interested them: professional careers were attractive to 50 percent of respondents, and sales/service careers appealed to 26 percent.
Young people see trades and technical careers rewarding both financially and personally. The prospect of enjoyment and personal reward was cited by 82 percent of those who expressed interest in technical and associated professional careers and 63 percent of young people who expressed interest in the trades; 38 and 39 percent respectively said the potential for external reward and lifestyle from these careers appealed to them.
And students understand that ongoing learning will be important in building a successful career. More than half the students who aspired towards a trades career see on-job training as part of their career. Half the students expect to study towards a qualification two to three times or more in their working lives for career development and deeper expertise.
The survey, Competent Children, Competent Learners has been tracking around 500 New Zealand young people from early childhood education through schooling and beyond and the latest findings come from the age-16 phase of the project.
To read a summary of the key findings go to:
http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/series/2567/35117/7
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