My Next Move

15/05/2025

🎉 What an incredible day at the South Canterbury Year 11 Pathways Expo! 🚀

Held at the Southern Trust Events Centre, this dynamic speed networking event help connect over 750 Year 11 students from across the region with local industry to explore career pathways and make informed decisions about their futures. 💼📚

A massive THANK YOU to our incredible businesses and industry representatives who attended and spent time chatting with students about what their industry has to offer, and what tools & skills are needed to be successful. — We simply couldn’t do this without you. Your willingness to share your time, experience, and passion is what makes this event such a success. 🙌 South Canterbury Road Safety, MITO New Zealand, Ara - South/Mid Canterbury & North Otago - Business Development Team, Mid-South Canterbury - Fire and Emergency, Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation, Barker's of Geraldine, Pye Group, South Canterbury Aero Club, Alpine Energy, Timaru District Council, KPMG New Zealand Careers, Vetlife Pets, Fonterra, Ritchies Transport, The Y Central South Island NZ, SPF Websites, Health NZ - South Canterbury, Canterbury Police, Ministry of Education NZ, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Ashley Communications Ltd, Sport Canterbury - South Canterbury, Apex Water Ltd, Scarlett Hydraulics Limited, Footes Ltd Chartered Accountants, Alpine Buildings NZ Ltd, Hato Hone St John, Silver Fern Farms.

Its been a spectacular journey working alongside the local CATE Aotearoa New Zealand group for the last 8 years to organise this event. We are very fortunate to have such a passionate team of career advisors in the region. A special thank you to Jo Shaw from Timaru Girls High School & Claire Spiers from Craighead Diocesan for going above and beyond to help organise this event. 👏

We were blessed to have 6 amazing guest speakers who spoke about their career journey and what inspired them to be where they are now. Nigel Bowen - Timaru District Mayor opened the day by emphasizing the value of initiative — encouraging young people to approach businesses, seek shadowing opportunities, and gain first hand industry insight. He highlighted the region’s strong network of supportive businesses committed to fostering youth participation in the workforce. Thank you to all our speakers on the day: Jace Mackay, Izzy Hillman, Tasha Archibald, Faith Turner-Walker and Courtney Bates. 🎤

Last but not least thank you to all the other organisations that contributed to supporting this event. Our fabulous MC Sheryl Bradley from Double Talk, O'H Yes Coffee & Catering, Timaru District Council, Marquee and Event Hire, Millie Rose Boutique, Sopheze Coffee Lounge & Catering, Mountainview High School - Authorised Page. ⭐️

27/04/2025

With just over 2 weeks to go until the Pathways Expo we are still searching for last minute registrations from our business community.

You will be connecting with over 750 students, a large majority of whom will be emerging into the local workforce in the next 3 years. Don't miss out on this opportunity to attract more talent to your industry and promote the pathways in your organisation.

Full morning tea, lunch and coffee provided for all businesses and staff attending. No cost to register apart from your time and expertise.

Reach out to liam@venturetimaru.nz (0274347837) for registrations or questions.

02/03/2025

❗️ Calling Local Businesses in South Canterbury 🚀

Are you ready to inspire the next generation of workforce and showcase career opportunities in your industry? Join us at the South Canterbury Year 11 Pathways Expo—a dynamic speed networking event connecting secondary school students with local industries!

🔹 Date: 14th May 2025
🔹 Location: Southern Trust Events Centre
🔹 Time: 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM

My Next Move is partnering with the South Canterbury CATE Aotearoa New Zealand group to deliver this event for it's 8th year running!

This expo is a unique, interactive event where businesses engage in speed networking with over 750 Year 11 students from all South Canterbury secondary schools. It’s an opportunity to:

✅ Highlight career pathways in your industry
✅ Connect and engage with youth
✅ Support students in making informed career and subject choices
✅ Showcase your business and the skills needed for success

📱 Scan the QR code for more information on what the event involves.
📩 Register now! Contact Liam at liam@venturetimaru.nz to secure your spot.

07/02/2025

Ever wondered what companies offer the most graduate opportunities in New Zealand? 🎓🤝

Take a look at Prosple's 2024 summary of the top 100 graduate employers and sectors in NZ.

Discover New Zealand's Top 100 graduate employer rankings. Search graduate jobs, apply online & kick start your career with Prosple New Zealand/GradNewZealand.

04/02/2025

🚀 Youth Parliament Applications Are Now Open! 🏛️

Are you a passionate rangatahi (16-18 years old) eager to gain hands-on experience in governance and politics? Do you want to help shape the future of our district and make a real impact? This is your chance!

We’re incredibly fortunate to have our very own MP, James Meager, serving as Minister for Youth, leading the way for the next generation of changemakers.

📢 Don’t miss out on this invaluable opportunity to represent your community and advocate for the issues that matter most.

🔗 Check out James’s post below for details on how to apply.

Applications for Youth Parliament are open today!

If you are aged between 16-18, are living in the Rangitata electorate, and want to represent Mid and South Canterbury in Youth Parliament send your application to james.meagerMP@parliament.govt.nz. Anybody can apply, whether you’re an apprentice, in alt ed, working or at school, I’d love to hear from you.

You’ll need to provide a copy of your CV and a cover letter (max 500 words) outlining how you think we could best grow Mid and South Canterbury so that it is a place where people want to live, work and play.

As Minister for Youth I’m really excited about leading the Youth Parliament programme, now in its 11th year. For more information, check out the Ministry of Youth Development - New Zealand link in the comments. Please share this far and wide, and tag anyone you think would make a great Youth MP.

23/01/2025

🌟Local career showcase: Sanford Limited 🐟

From a 16 year old without direction to Skipper of a 42 manned vessel. Hear Steve's story about how the fishing industry has shaped him and why he loves what he does. 🛳

Could this one day be you?

Meet Steve, Skipper on the San Discovery. Steve is a veteran of the seafood industry and has been with Sanford for six years. Hear from him about what he lov...

21/01/2025

Make the most of this exciting opportunity next week! 👀

Pop along to ARA's open day and explore what study options are available for you. Have a talk with their excellent support team and enjoy a walk and talk tour of the unique Timaru campus. You're never too old or young to start investing in your future. 📚🌟

See further information about the open day and registrations for tours on the Ara - South/Mid Canterbury & North Otago - Business Development Team page. 🙌

📣Reminder: Ara Open Day is Next Week! 🎉

Get ready to explore 150+ career-boosting study options at our Open Day! 🚀 Whether you’re just starting to think about your future or already know where you’re headed, this is the perfect opportunity to discover everything Ara Institute of Canterbury has to offer.

Here’s what you can look forward to:
🏫 Walk-and-Talk Tours with our experts
🤝 Learn about our student support services and what makes the Ara student experience unique
🎓 Explore your study options and discover pathways to success

Ready to enrol?
Bring your ID (birth certificate or passport) and we’ll help you get everything sorted on the spot!

Already enrolled?
Come say hi, explore where you’ll be studying, and get a feel for campus life. We can’t wait to meet you! 🙌

See you there! 📍

04/12/2024

Thank you to all those involved in our Inspiring the Future Aotearoa event held at Mountainview High School - Authorised Page last week. 👏

A first taste of what careers roles are available in our region for these year 9 students. We had 6 enthusiastic industry role models attend from with our community. Students asked role models questions about their jobs and then tried to guess what they do.

This was a great exercise to widen the understanding of what these roles are about, and breakdown common misconceptions about their industries.

A big thank you to these people for volunteering their time and their organisations for valuing the impact of early career inspiration on future development.

Jace from Mid-South Canterbury - Fire and Emergency🚒
Chirag from Bidwill Trust Hospital🩺
Cameron from Canterbury Police🚓
Grace from Venture Timaru🖌
Lauren from Vetlife Farming🐄
Liam from RSM Law⚖️

Also a special thank you to Elaina, Murray & Trish from the careers team at Mountainview for organising this within the school. 👏

We will be looking to run these events throughout 2025 and need more passionate roles models. This style of event is the perfect opportunity for businesses to engage early with youth about the career pathways they offer, requires minimal preparation and time out of office.

Don't wait for us to call, get in touch now to be involved in these events in the future. Email: liam@venturetimaru.nz 📧

22/10/2024

A few pics from Mondays Kahui Ako careers day, hosted at Roncalli College. 👀

These students got to take part in an Inspiring the Future Aotearoa event in the morning, hearing from 6 passionate industry role models about their journey and the wide range of careers available in South Canterbury. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and try guess what our role models did for their job. This event was put on to ignite some early career thinking as they begin to transition to high school next year.

Thank you to Liam from RSM Law, James from Bleeker and Weith 2018 Ltd, Phillipa from Bidwill Trust Hospital, Melanie from Resene, Kelly from Roncalli College, Timaru and Ross from Fonterra for your time and words of wisdom. Your passion for inspiring the next generation is greatly appreciated. 👏

Following the morning session, we helped give students a tour around 5 local business who showcased their operations and talked to students about the amazing work they do here in the community.

Thank you to Fulton Hogan Careers NZ, PrimePort Timaru Limited, Ara - South/Mid Canterbury & North Otago - Business Development Team, Mid-South Canterbury - Fire and Emergency and Alpine Energy for accommodating the groups and taking the time to show them around. 👏

A superb day for exposing local students to the wide range of exciting career opportunities we have here in our region. An event that highlights how fortunate we are here in Timaru to have businesses and individuals like these who are willing to give back. ⭐️

25/09/2024

⭐️Some snaps from last weeks Inspiring the Future Aotearoa career event at Craighead Diocesan School, Timaru NZ⭐️

This event was put on for Year 7 & 8 students to help ignite career thinking, breakdown industry stereotypes and to introduce some of the career pathways available in our region.

We had 5 amazing role models attend from within our community. Students asked our role models 20 yes or no questions about their job and then had to guess what they thought it was. They then got to hear from role models about what they do and how they got started in their own careers.

Thank you to our superstar role models: Tori from Total Automotive 2017 Ltd 🏎🖌, Grace from Venture Timaru 🖥🪄, Renee from New Zealand Police 🚓👮‍♀️, Kellie from Sanford Limited 🐟🛥 and Olivia from Precision Build NZ Ltd & Timaru District Council 📋🦺.

27/08/2024

A few pics from yesterdays Interview Skills Session at Roncalli College, Timaru. Lead by the awesome duo of Grant Jenkins from Grant Jenkins Contracting Ltd & Di Hay from Venture Timaru.

Grant & Di ran two different mock interview sessions for Year 12 students and asked them what things they noticed that were good and bad during the interview process. Both also spoke about experiences they've had in the past as employers and things that stand out for applicants.

We thank both Grant & Di as valuable volunteers in our community and for sharing key information that will better prepare these students for future employment.

22/05/2024

The Y Youth Survey has officially launched!

Please share this with the youth in your communities. Feedback from this survey is crucial in informing a range of stakeholders and the work they do to make South Canterbury a better place for our youth.

A survey seeking the perspectives of young South Cantabrians has reopened, and more of them are now eligible to take part.