Inspiring rangatahi about STEAM, aviation or aerospace work

Postponement: The Wings Over Wairarapa Air Festival 2023 is postponed due to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on the nation. A new event date will be announced by 5pm, Sunday 26 February. We will update everyone involved in the Inspiring the Future workshops after the announcement by email.

Do you work in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts and maths), aviation or aerospace? Wings Over Wairarapa Air Festival 2023 and Inspiring the Future Aotearoa are looking for people to engage with rangatahi about their mahi as part of the Take Flight youth programme.

Take Flight is a STEAM youth programme run in Masterton as part of the air festival, with a Schools Day on Friday 24 February 2023.

A new feature of Schools Day are activities targeting Year 8s to 13s as they consider their transitions from school to work.

One of these activities is Inspiring the Future workshops. These will be similar to normal Inspiring the Future events, held within the festival. Volunteer role models will share their career or study story with rangatahi.

What’s involved?

You would take part in two or three Inspiring the Future Workshops as a role model, either morning or afternoon, with students from local schools and NEETs (youth not in employment, education or training). These involve:

  • 20 questions – Rangatahi ask questions to try to guess what job role models do.
  • The reveal – Role models leave the space and come back wearing work clothes or carrying props that represent what they do. They reveal their job and share their story about how they got there.
  • Discussion groups – Rangatahi ask role models questions and learn more about their job and story.

We are looking for a diverse bunch of volunteers, including young people recently out of study or new to a particular role.

How to sign up

  1. Sign up as a role model
  2. Fill in a profile about yourself and your story.
  3. You will need to complete a criminal record check. Having a criminal record doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t be a role model.
  4. We will invite you to two or three workshops by email.

Sign up to volunteer as a role model

If you would like to take part in a specific workshop, please contact us at inspiringthefuture@tec.govt.nz.

Workshop times

Friday 24 February

  • 9.45am–10.45am
  • 10.15am–11.15am
  • 11.00am–12.00pm

Lunch break

  • 1.00pm–2.00pm
  • 1.30pm–2.30pm
  • 2.15pm–3.15pm (NEETs)
  • 2.45pm–3.45pm (NEETs)

Pathways Lightning Talks

Schools Day also includes Pathways Lightning Talks. These are short conversations (up to 20 minutes) between a volunteer (the ‘expert’) and a small group of students in an informal setting. Students can choose which pathway topic they want to know more about. The conversation comprises three elements:

  • the expert talking about their role/what they do
  • the expert’s own personal story
  • opportunities for students to ask questions.

Sign up to be a Pathways Lightning Talks speaker here.