This year the emphasis will be on developing the three career management competencies:

Developing self awareness

• Competencies that enable young people to understand themselves and the influences on them.
• Personality typing
• Strengths and weakness
• Goal setting
• Tracking results
• Informational interviewing
• Employability skills

Exploring opportunities

• Competencies that enable young people to investigate opportunities in learning and work, and relate them to themselves.
• Job search
• Career research
• Work experience / shadowing
• Tertiary open days
• University updates

Deciding and acting

• Competencies that enable young people to make and adjust their plans, to manage change and transition, and to take appropriate action.
• Application forms
• Meeting deadlines
• Accommodation options
• Scholarship and fees talks
• Budgeting
• Transport/ License
• Choosing subjects/options

If you don’t know what you would like to study, go online for help! Check out Vocational Pathways.

Career Central is our online school management system for careers.  Within this system, students can explore potential careers, log their strengths and interests, register for events, share their next steps, indicate if they are interested in STAR courses, Trades Academy or Gateway programmes, complete careers quizzes, register for events, make a CV, find helpful resources and links and request interviews and check their interview notes.

Career Central is used by you, your tūhono teacher and the careers staff at Paraparaumu College.  

For us to help you effectively plan for your future, we rely on you to do your part and engage with the platform.

If you haven’t done this for a while you will find that your information is outdated, and if you haven’t ever been on, now is a great time to start.  

Please ‘like” us on Facebook.  Check out ‘Careers at Paraparaumu College’.  Regular updates are posted on career events, potential jobs, and links to Career information to get you critically thinking about your pathways.

Use your normal school login for Career Central.  

University Entrance 

This is the minimum requirement to enrol in a degree course at any New Zealand tertiary provider. To qualify you need each of the following: 

• NCEA Level 3

• 14 credits in each of three level 3 subjects from the approved list 

• Literacy, 10 credits at Level 2 or above, made up of 5 reading credits and 5 writing credits 

• Numeracy, 10 credits at Level 1 or above. 

• Most other courses require NCEA Level 2 entry. 

Approved Subjects List  

List of approved subjects ​​​​​​​

• Term 1 and 2 all eight universities will do introductory visits  

• Most scholarships open 1st July 

• 1 August halls of residence applications open

• 2 August we will start sending off CCRF (Common Confidential Reference Form) references to the halls of residences on behalf of students

• 15 August many scholarships close

• Mid September halls of residence offers sent out at the same time as scholarship offers

• 1st October university course enrolments open (and Term 3 representatives from all eight universities will visit us to help with course planning)

• Study link application done before 16 December

• 10 December preferred cut off for enrolments

• Some courses like teaching, nursing and paramedicine have different deadlines and take applications from August and shut when they have enough applicants​​​​​​​

There are many scholarships available for undergraduate/first year students.  Below are links to the scholarship pages of the main New Zealand universities/polytechnics.  

Please be aware that most of these scholarships will require a reference from the college.  If you apply for any scholarships please ensure that you advise the careers team in plenty of time (two weeks minimum) so a reference can be organised.

Year 12 and 13 students have the opportunity to build skills for employment and working in a real workplace. They will try out potential careers and build links to industry, apprenticeships and employment opportunities. This requires up to 8 days in the workplace. This is usually undertaken one school day a week for 8 weeks. There is no cost to the student and any work gear and transport costs are met by the Gateway programme.  Additional learning in the students area of interest is also possible.  For example the MITO Start Up Programme, Countdown Seeds Programme or Youthline Youth Work Programme.

To be accepted into the Gateway programme, students need an interview with the Gateway Co-ordinator or the Head of Careers and need to choose Careers Academy as a subject in their course selection process. 

​​​​​​​Trades Academy courses aim to equip students with the vocational skills and training they need to gain future employment. The partnership between school and tertiary institutions allows students to continue at school while learning new skills at a tertiary provider.

How it works:  

• You will gain NCEA credits  

• Study fees free with subsidised transport costs  

• Spend 3-4 days at school and 1-2 days each week all year studying at a tertiary provider (Te Pukenga - UCOL, Whitireia, Primary ITO

If you are interested in a Trades Academy Programme, you must see the Head of Careers. 

USKILLS UCOL TRADES ACADEMY OFFERINGS 2024

WELLINGTON TRADES ACADEMY OFFERERINGS 2024

STAR funding is used to support students to explore career pathways and help them make informed decisions about their schooling and future work or study.  It is used to enable students to attend courses which will better respond to students’ needs, motivate them to achieve, and facilitate their smooth transition to further education, training or employment.

Examples of STAR short courses that students have been involved in:

• Yoobee Design holiday programmes

• First Aid

• First Responder

• Health and Safety

• New Zealand School of Tourism – Hotels, Flight attending etc

• Queenstown Resort College School holiday programme

• Elite Beauty

• University of Canterbury Stage One papers in Maths

• Barista training

• Short courses at Te PukengaWeltec/Whitireia including Plumbing, DJ, Carpentry, Business Admin, Photography, Journalism, Radio, Automotive Engineering, Songwriting and more.

• Papa Taiao Earthcare courses – Environmental Leadership and Trapping

• Kapiti Island Maori Tourism

• Bartenders ABC

• Drug and alcohol awareness

See Mrs Shelley Marshall our STAR Co-ordinator if you are interested in one of these courses

School Leavers Toolkit -  Advice and resources for finding your way after leaving school

Study Spy - Course comparisons, including apprenticeships

Careers.govt.nz - A wonderful resource for making CVs, job profiles and general information on study, career pathways and great information for parents on giving careers advice. 

Just the Job - Watch hundreds of short videos showing young people trying out different jobs 

Student Job Search - A great site for students to find suitable jobs

Studylink - Fees free, student loans and allowances

Driving Tests - Over 300 multi choice questions to prepare you to sit your learners licence (FREE)