Young people can get a fresh start in life through Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) courses. In these free courses, young people aged 18–24 who are not studying or working take part in activities to help build the confidence to move into jobs, training or study.
Recently Inspiring the Future joined forces with the course organisers – the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) – to incorporate Inspiring the Future into one of their Canterbury courses. And we’re very happy that the team behind the LSV courses are keen to keep working with Inspiring the Future.
Forty-four young people took part in the Inspiring the Future session at the Canterbury course. The organiser said it was an “all-around awesome event … a great opportunity to run a new activity for our trainees to engage in learning about potential career pathways and different industries”.
The feedback from the trainees, role models and staff was all very positive. The trainees especially enjoyed learning about a variety of careers, and talking to role models in small groups. They thought the props the role models brought to represent their jobs were cool and really added to their learning. The role models did a great job at keeping them interested and engaged.
The role models’ jobs and props were:
- Jockey/horse rider trainer – she brought her horse-riding outfit to change into and taught the trainees how to get onto a horse and the stance to be in when riding.
- Production Manager of manufacturing factory – he changed into his high-vis and hard hat, and the trainees got to try on his hat and hear his tips for getting hired and progressing towards a manager role.
- Arborist who is also an ex-Naval rating – he brought his safety gear and uniform and showed trainees how to use the safety gear to keep safe when on trees. He also shared about his experience in the NZDF.
- Cloud engineer – he brought the “Meta Smart Glasses” he helped to create: Ray-Ban glasses that can take photos and videos, play music and answer calls. The trainees loved learning about the process of creating new technology, and trying out the glasses.
The role models are all keen to do another Inspiring the Future session or attend provider presentation evenings – they certainly felt they were adding value to these young people’s lives.
We asked the organisers what the trainees learned.
“They received a huge insight into the role models’ careers, and the session took away preconceived ideas. Inspiring the Future is a huge advantage for young people, don’t pass it up!”
Thank you to Connected Canterbury staff who supported LSV staff with organising and running the session.
Want to inspire young people as a volunteer role model? Find out more and sign up.
Want to connect young people with role models from the world of work? Get in touch.