Career Services

Student Services Update – May 2023

Careers Evening

We are busy finalising the programme for our combined Careers Evening with St Cuthbert’s College, to be held in the Great Hall on Tuesday 13 June from 6pm-9pm.

We are fortunate to be joined by leading education providers and institutions both here in New Zealand and from International Universities.  Please look out for an email in early May providing you with an outline for the evening and requesting an indication of which seminars you are most interested in attending. 

International University Applications

On Wednesday 3 May, we held a briefing for those students considering applying to International Universities. Please click here for key information on how the Student Services team can support your sons with this process. If you would like to meet with one of the team to discuss this in person please email studentservices@ags.school.nz.

Monash University

Monash University will be presenting about its programmes (in particular Medicine) on Thursday June 15 from 3:45pm. Any students from Auckland Grammar School and St Cuthberts College should attend this presentation.

Careers Support

Should your son require career advice to assist with his future planning, the Student Services team is available during interval and lunchtime for an initial conversation. One-on-one appointments can be made should they be required. 

SchoolTV – Wellbeing Survey

Last year proved to be yet another challenging year. The ongoing impact of the pandemic, the continuing war in Ukraine, humanitarian crises, the rising cost of living, unprecedented flooding and growing social polarization, and the ever-present threat of climate change, have impacted and overwhelmed many families who are trying to recover, rebuild and adjust to a new kind of ‘normal’. Click here to read more.

General

Term 2 will see a number of things coming up, including a presentation from University of Waikato lecturer Dr Sam Campbell on the topic Experience Law. This will be held in the MMT on Tuesday 25 July from 2:50pm. Form 5 students are welcome to join once the day concludes.

For all other upcoming events, please check the School schedule.

Student Services Support

If you have any concerns for your son and would like to discuss what support Student Services may be able to offer him, please contact the team by calling 09 623 5445 or emailing studentservices@ags.school.nz.

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The Careers staff can help with exploring interests, strengths and aspirations then helping a student match these to possible career options. This can be for short term goals (for instance, choosing an option in Form 5) or it can include prerequisites for a pathway towards an application to a university, hall of residence and where to access overseas assessment opportunities like the SATs.

We can help your son explore the networks they have, as well as help them find Career role models to aspire towards. Careers Counsellors can help with employment (both full and sometimes part-time positions), as well as trades training opportunities, student allowances and access to STAR and Pathways courses.

Book a careers appointment after having a look at some information first on websites, newspapers and in brochures available from Student Services. Each student must manage their own learning and application processes.

Ensure that you are aware of closing dates for applications and follow up appointments. The School is very keen to see every student placed in the tertiary and career path of their choice but are not responsible for ensuring application deadlines are reached.

Scholarships

The MoneyHub Scholarship page is a comprehensive list including scholarships offered by every university as well as those specifically available to local students. A list of privately-funded, Maori, Pacific and International university scholarships completes the list.

For students wishing to apply for scholarships to New Zealand universities, they can refer to either the individual University page by clicking on the links below or visit the Scholarship page under Careers on GrammarNet – these are updated on a regular basis.

Key contacts for various New Zealand universities

If you are interested in finding out more about studying at different universities across New Zealand, click here to download a PDF document with contact information for each of the universities. To find out the information needed for universities in New Zealand, click here.

University Representative Visits

This week sees the start of our university presentations.  We recommend your son attend as many as possible to gain an understanding of the options available. Click here for the full list of dates.

Finances and Study

The StudyLink website is a great place to visit to get you thinking about what it will cost to live and study. StudyLink can help you work out if study is right for you and how you can support yourself. StudyLink can also help you apply for your Student Allowance for the upcoming academic year.

You don’t need to have your NCEA results or have locked down all your plans in order to apply. It’s more important to allow enough time for all the steps in the application process to be completed. 

Careers Studies at Auckland Grammar School

Careers Studies is offered as an option subject for senior students (those in Forms 5, 6 and 7) – please see the Pathways staff for details on eligibility.

The Careers department is open before school, interval, lunchtime and after school for inquiries. If you like to make a booking, email careers@ags.school.nz.

Careers Resources – we have a number of different websites that will help you in your career or tertiary study path:

• CareersNZ, a great website for general planning and information
• CareersQuest, found via the Careers website
• Just The Job – information about tertiary studies and careers
• MBIE (Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment)
• Information on universities, No Major Drama
• Got A Trade for on-the-job training
• ITF (Industry Training Federation)
• If you are thinking about joining the Police or the Armed Forces, check out the New Zealand Police and the New Zealand Defence Force websites for more details
• Preparing for a job interview – click here for the list of the top 10 most typical interview questions and how to answer them

Students can think about working on their CV before assessments and exams come on the horizon. MoneyHub has some great guides to walk them through, step by step.

1. Student CV Template
2. Student Job Cover Letters
3. Student Job Interview Practice Questions

Universities and polytechnics, government organisations, and industries have funding opportunities available for school-leavers. More information can be found at the Futureintech website.

If you choose to continue with tertiary study at an overseas university, click here – the ‘student’s road map to studying abroad’. Note: this website is purely around US-based universities.

Form 4 Programme

All Form 4 students will complete two careers seminars designed to initiate students to research options and build information around how option choices and career paths are linked in the short term, but also how lifestyle choices influence career pathways. All students are invited to take specific inquiries to Careers during interval and lunchtimes. Senior students can make an appointment with a Careers counsellor at any stage of the year.

Pathways provide valuable work experience and Unit Standard credits relevant to employment. Topics range from CVs to job interview skills and site safety.

STAR Courses are government-funded short courses available to senior students that give a taste of a future career. Students can gain credits towards their NCEA qualifications.

Gateway offers work placements to broaden the range of job options and students can gain credits towards a NCEA qualification.

Gateway can help your son explore the networks they have, as well as help them find Career role models to aspire towards, then take concrete steps to step up. Careers Counsellors can help with employment (both full and sometimes part-time positions), as well as trades training opportunities, student allowances and access to star and Pathways courses.