Carving Pacific pathways into tech careers

Tech sector experience is providing Pacific youth with valuable insights and skills.

The Ministry of Education has partnered with careers organisation The ICE Base to increase the number of Pacific learners experiencing and embarking on careers in the Aotearoa tech sector.

Currently, 75 Pacific learners per year are supported through the Student360 programme, with academic mentoring and paid holiday work experience. Pairing students up with partner organisations enables valuable workplace experience and skills learning, fosters relationships and provides both young people and employers with rich rewards.

Head of delivery at Theta, one of several employer organisations involved in the programme, is Phoebe Dobson.

“We liked the concept of helping our young people get exposed to career options whilst at secondary school and encouraging them to continue to further their education,” she says.

The New Zealand-owned and operated technology consulting business saw a chance for empowering more Pacific youth into a pathway aligned with their operation and values.

“Our business employs primarily technical staff with minimum degree level qualifications, and we want to encourage more people to get involved in this exciting industry with many career options. Through Student360, we can directly support and encourage some of our young people to pursue this as a career option.”

Student feedback

TJ is a Student360 alumnus from Wesley College. He is currently a commerce degree student at the University of Auckland, majoring in business analytics. TJ’s first encounter with the Student360 programme was at a university open day.

TJ relished working in the Finance team at Theta, cementing his plan to study accounting.

“The idea of paid internships within my preferred industry immediately caught my attention,” he says.

Gaining a deeper understanding of accountancy in a large organisational environment was one of the many learnings TJ experienced.

“Going into the workplace with only a fair bit of accounting knowledge was quite a challenge. Although experience wasn’t necessary, I felt that it would’ve helped to familiarise myself more with various accounting terms ahead of my placement!

“However, the highlights during my work experience included being able to surround myself with the type of people I would be working with in the future, as well as gaining first-hand experience within the accounting field in a tech organisation.”

How did the programme help enforce, change or support TJ’s career pathway thoughts?

“The Student360 programme most definitely helped me in terms of giving myself the opportunity to reflect on my career pathway options.

“Being given the chance to work within my preferred career area has most definitely altered my perspective of the business world in a positive manner. And I am now carrying that perspective over to my tertiary studies, which has allowed me to be more open-minded and motivated to learn more.”

At Theta, Phoebe shows she is equally buoyed by the experience her organisation has shared with the likes of TJ.

“We have found the overall experience to be extremely rewarding. Our staff involved in supporting the student placements all enjoy sharing their knowledge.”

She says the organisation has learned plenty from the process, too.

“In the beginning, we found it challenging to ensure we were pitching the ‘project’ for each student at the right level for a Year 12/13 student, as our internship programmes had been predominantly at university graduate level. We found flexibility was the key to adapting.”

Student360 participants are awarded certificates on completion of their programme.

Broadening perspectives

Theta’s first Student360 participants joined the business in October 2020, during the school holidays, and the company has continued to support the programme since, with regular school holiday placements offered.

“We have developed a format that the students seem to find informative and interesting,” says Phoebe.

“For each work experience placement, we have a business unit that leads the placement and has a ‘project’ and a buddy/mentor for the students.

“The most recent placement was with our People & Culture team and the allocated project was to assist with presenting the feedback from a recent staff survey. We also have a series of introductory meetings to different areas of the business (eg, finance, cyber security, marketing, project management, product development) to expose students to different career options.

“We finish each placement with a retrospective from the students on what they learned, what they found valuable, and any feedback on how we could continue to improve the placements in future.”

Over the past year, Theta was represented by 36 nationalities, with 56 languages and dialects including Māori and Pacific Island nations.

“We’re proud to have a diverse workforce who broaden our perspectives and help us recognise and appreciate the cultures around us,” says Phoebe.

“By better reflecting the diverse world in which we live, we’re able to build better teams and generate better outcomes as a result.”

Year 12 and Year 13 students are able to delve inside an organisation they’re passionate about and gain first-hand work experience across the school holidays.

Breaking barriers

TJ has done his research on the prevalence of Pacific people in the tech sector. He recognises existing barriers while also being positive about the future trajectory.

“The main barriers that I would consider to increasing the number of Pacific peoples within tech careers would be the lack of representation and promotion of tech careers within communities that revolve around Pacific peoples ,” he says.

“People will always be willing to advertise from the comfort of their own environment, however, what differentiates a leader and a role model is someone being able to associate themselves with their target audience, in person, to identify what the real issues are.

“Anyone can record themselves on a screen and post it on social media, yet words have no meaning without action. Those that leave a positive impact upon others will be remembered as those who took further action than needed to better the people around them.”

Emma Loubser, Student360 programme lead, says the ICE Student360 programme empowers Aotearoa New Zealand’s future leaders by providing them with access to knowledge and experiences to prepare for the world of work.

“We are honoured by the feedback of our students, who found their work experiences through the programme instrumental in making confident career decisions.

“Together with our dedicated Employer Partners, we will passionately champion the programme’s growth and create awareness about the abundance of opportunities and pathways available to all rangatahi in Aotearoa.”

TJ is sold on the benefits of real-world experience.

“I am grateful for all the guidance and mentoring they have given to me. Being a part of the programme has helped me a lot in terms of career pathway development.”

By the end of their placement, students are part of a family, navigating decision making about career pathways together.