Students turn out to Sort It
The careers welcome mat earned its keep as thousands of secondary pupils, teachers, older job seekers, and tertiary and employment providers tramped across it during the fourth annual Sort It jobs expo in Palmerston North.
At times on Thursday, areas of the Central Energy Trust Arena 2 were packed, as groups of teens in school uniforms surged into the stadium before making their way around the numerous stalls.
Many of the booths had interactive components designed to attract and engage.
Horizons Regional Council provided free buses to the event from schools around the wider region, with more than 2600 pupils expected.
Sort It had attracted major tertiary institutions including Massey, UCOL, IPU, Te Wananga, Weltec and the universities of Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury.
There was a diverse range of manufacturers and service providers, along with vocational representatives for professions such as law, early childhood, and property.
Michael Saywell, from Palmerston North’s The Design School, said there was a real buzz about this year’s expo, describing it as ‘‘fantastic’’.
Sheran Merritt, from Workskills Training, said it was bigger than last year. ‘‘There is a greater selection of employment and training options, and a better layout.’’
Rhys Graham, on the Higgins Group stand, had people trying out a virtual digger system.
‘‘We use it for training crews before giving them hands-on experience in the field. It keeps track of the time and load volumes through a series of different stages.’’
The array of Sort It options caused several pupils to rethink their ideas.
Georgia Barrett, 16, a year 12 at Longburn Adventist College, said she came to find out about design, but was lured by the idea of attending North American summer camps.
‘‘It’s a bit overwhelming. There’s such a lot to see, and I’ve come across so many more ideas,’’ Barrett said.
After he’d tried on a full-kit firefighters suit, Bernard Wagener, 17, year 13 at St Peter’s College, said the expo was an eye-opener.
From Feilding High School, Evangeline Sanson, 15, year 11, had her eye on a career in food science.
She said it was cool to have all the universities in one place, and to talk to people about the study options.
St Peter’s College teacher Chris Osborne said pupils were showing good interest in the expo.