Inspiring the Future is a free programme for primary, intermediate and secondary school students and other groups of young people across Aotearoa, created to broaden their horizons. It aims to challenge stereotypes and address unconscious biases that can limit young people’s potential.
Inspiring the Future connects young people with volunteer role models who are keen to share their career stories. Role models sign up on this website, then schools or other event hosts book them for events where young people get to talk with them.
There are options for different age groups and stages of development.
Watch this video of a large, in-person event. Events can also be classroom-based, much smaller – or online.
How does it work?
He pēhea e mahi ai?
Inspiring the Future events can be either in person or online.
Schools and other event hosts usually run their own events. But organisations and people in your community can help – ask us about this option.
Events can be any size. An individual teacher might run an event for their class or a small group, or staff might come together to run a whole-school event in their hall.
We provide everything you need to do this:
- five tried and tested event formats to choose from
- guidance and resources for your event
- access to a database of volunteer role models
- an email address to contact us on for support
- classroom activities for before and after the event – these help you deliver on the curriculum and let students connect their learning with the world outside of school.
For schools with Education Review Office (ERO) requirements, Inspiring the Future can also help deliver on careers education compliance.
How to sign up
Me pēhea te waitohu atu
It’s easy to sign up to Inspire the Future. If you work at a school you can simply log in using your Education Sector Logon (ESL).
If you don’t work at a school, contact us to learn about becoming an event host.
Once you log in, you can schedule events and select role models to invite from our pool of volunteers.
Planning and preparing for an event
Te whakamahere me te whakariterite mō tētahi hui
The first step is to decide what type of event you will run. Look at the event options below and contact us if you need help choosing.
Then decide if you will have a theme for your event, to suit learning objectives and where participants are up to in their career education. You can choose role models based on the theme. Some possible themes are:
- Local jobs
- Supporting transition to secondary school
- Topics, eg, the environment, or jobs related to a big sports event
- Subject-specific, eg, science careers
- Sector-specific, eg, IT careers
- Pathways, eg, apprenticeship pathways.
Or you can simply aim to broaden horizons and challenge stereotypes.
We recommend you schedule your event and invite role models at least four weeks ahead of time.
Everything you need to run an Inspiring the Future event is available to download here on our website – or we can send you printed resources for free.
Event formats
You have access to volunteer role models in your region for an in-person event and across New Zealand for an online event. The formats are flexible – recommendations below are just a guide.
For more guidance, the Tahatū career map matches Inspiring the Future formats and other career activities to each school year group.
Tahatū career map – Tahatū Career Navigator
Guess My Job (primary, intermediate and secondary)
Participants try to guess role models’ jobs in these panel sessions, followed by in-depth discussions in smaller groups. See the step-by-step guide and other Guess My Job event resources.
- Recommended age group: Years 3–11 (age 7–16)
- Length of event: Usually 1.5–3 hours
- Recommended number of participants: 30–200
Online Career Chat (primary, intermediate and secondary)
Participants meet role models online and try to guess their jobs, followed by a presentation and Q&A with each role model. See the step-by-step guide and other Online Career Chat event resources.
- Recommended age group: Any
- Length of event: Usually 30 minutes to 1.5 hours
- Recommended number of participants: Up to 30
Career Chat (primary, intermediate and secondary)
A role model speaks about their career, followed by a Q&A for participants to learn more about their job and pathway. Repeat with as many role models as time allows (around 20 minutes for each). See the step-by-step guide and other Career Chat event resources.
- Recommended age group: Any
- Length of event: Usually 30 minutes to 1.5 hours
- Recommended number of participants: Up to 60
Career Discussion Group (secondary)
Groups of participants rotate around the role models, spending 10–15 minutes with each, hearing about their careers and asking questions. See the step-by-step guide and other Career Discussion Group event resources.
- Recommended age group: Year 11+ (age 15+)
- Length of event: Usually 45 minutes to 1.5 hours
- Recommended number of participants: 15–80
Role Model Interview (secondary)
Participants interview role models about their careers for around 10 minutes, either 1:1 or 2:1, rotating around as many role models as time allows. You can break up the interviews with other career activities. See the step-by-step guide and other Role Model Interview event resources.
- Recommended age group: Year 11+ (age 15+)
- Length of event: Usually 30 minutes to 1.5 hours
- Recommended number of participants: Up to 30
To see some of the fantastic Inspiring the Future events that have already been run, visit News and updates.
Log in using your Education Sector Logon here and start creating events at your school.
Who are our role models?
Ko wai mā ō mātou tauira?
Volunteers sign up to be role models on our website. They fill in a profile about themselves and complete a criminal record check.
Meet some of our role models who have signed up to inspire young people.
Find out more about the criminal record check process.
Support and more information
Te tautoko me ētahi atu mōhiohio
If you have any questions, or would like support with scheduling an event, the Inspiring the Future team is happy to help. Please email us at inspiringthefuture@tec.govt.nz