Introduction
The importance of career education in schools
Every young person needs the opportunity to transition successfully from school to further learning and work.

For students to achieve their potential and be positive contributors to the community and the nation as a
whole, schools need to provide high-quality, school-wide, integrated, culturally responsive career education.

Career information, advice and guidance are implicit in The New Zealand Curriculum, and are explicitly
required under the National Administration Guidelines (NAGs).

NAG 1 (f) relates specifically to careers and directs schools to:
provide appropriate career education for all students in Year 7 and above, with a particular
emphasis on specific career guidance for those students who have been identified by the school as
being at risk of leaving school unprepared for the transition to the workplace or further
education/training.
The benchmarks are a self-review tool for schools
They:

provide a framework that school communities can use to evaluate their own career education provision
against current understanding of effective practice;

enable schools to identify strengths and priorities for improvement; and

bridge the gap between NAG 1 (f) and Career Education and Guidance in New Zealand Schools,1 as shown
in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The benchmarks in relation to other key career education documents
1
See bibliography for links to the National Administration Guidelines and Career Education and Guidance in New Zealand Schools.
Careers New Zealand
© Crown 2014
Structure of the benchmarks – secondary
The Career Education Benchmarks–Secondary are one set in a suite of benchmarks2. Each of the three sets of
benchmarks is structured to include four key dimensions for effective practice. Some dimensions are common to
all three sets but others are not.
The dimensions are integrated and are designed to work together to achieve successful student outcomes.
Figure 2: The key dimensions for effective career education – secondary

‘Student Career Management Competencies’ is the outcomes dimension. It describes the career
management competencies students need to develop during their years of education to successfully manage
their transitions.

The other three dimensions describe the inputs required to ensure that career education programmes and
services enable all students to build their career management competencies.

People may notice the occasional repetition of some concepts across the dimensions. This highlights the
inter-related nature of the four dimensions. It acknowledges different approaches to the self-review process
and accommodates the needs of schools that choose not to review all the dimensions simultaneously.
The concept of supporting all students to build their own career management competencies so that they can
successfully self-manage their life, learning and work is central to the design of the benchmarks.
The benchmarks support the shift from a career decision guidance approach to a more dynamic model of career
development guidance which reflects the realities of life, learning and work today.
“…career management competencies have the potential to be a transformative ‘core service’ in
career education. They can re-invigorate the direction of schools and sharpen the focus for the
New Zealand Curriculum principles and vision of young people becoming confident, connected,
actively involved lifelong learners.”3
2
The other two sets in the suite are Career Education Benchmarks–Year 7 and 8, and Career Development Benchmarks–Tertiary.
3
Vaughan & Spiller, 2012.
Careers New Zealand
© Crown 2014
The term ‘career development’ is used throughout this document in the context of career management
competency acquisition.

Career development refers to the outcomes of the programmes and services that students receive through
the school’s provision of career- and transition-related education4.

It is about students developing their career management competencies.

International literature aligns the desired outcomes of career education to the competencies young people
need to develop. As illustrated in Figure 3, the formation of self underpins the competency approach.
Figure 3: A competency approach to career development
4
Career education talks about what the school provides such as a programme or service. Career development is what a student
achieves, for example, career management competencies.
Careers New Zealand
© Crown 2014
The outcomes dimension – student career management competencies
The Student Career Management Competencies dimension:

identifies the attributes that school leavers should have developed to enable them to successfully transition
from school into further learning or work and to successfully manage their lives;5

is designed for schools to use when planning and evaluating their career development programmes and
services.
The five key competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum align with the career management competencies.

The two sets of competencies are complementary, as shown in Figure 4.

The key competencies can also be used as a framework to help manage students’ career development.

Information about career management competency can be included in individual students’ portfolios.
Figure 4: Synergy between the Key Competencies and the Career Management Competencies
5
These descriptions differ from those in Career Education and Guidance in New Zealand Schools as they focus on the competencies
students need to have to enable successful transitions from school, rather than detailing by year level what students should be
developing.
Careers New Zealand
© Crown 2014
The input dimensions – effective career education practices
The Leadership dimension
Strong and effective leadership has an impact across all the dimensions. In secondary schools, effective career
education leadership practice and behaviour:

has the end goal of successfully transitioning all students in, through and beyond secondary school;

is underpinned by career development and transition theory and recognises the inter-related nature of these
concepts;

ensures school structures reflect clear strategies and plans for a whole-school approach to career education
and transitions;

is visibly supported by senior leaders for the overall monitoring and direction of career education;

creates a positive climate for the provision of innovative career education programmes and services;

ensures career education programmes and services are well resourced and supported; and

places a strong emphasis on the needs of priority student groups and their influencers..
The Programmes and Services dimension
High-quality career education programmes and services:

promote the development of career management competencies and place them at the heart of career
education;

take a whole-school, integrated approach which focuses on learning that is coherent, connected and
contextualised;

incorporate culturally relevant content and approaches to learning;

build on foundations for lifelong career management begun in Years 7 and 8;

use quality information systems and processes; and

are regularly reviewed, evaluated and improved through consultation within the school and the wider
community.
The Transitions dimension
At the secondary level, successful transitions are ongoing and occur when:

planned and regularly reviewed careers, pastoral care and learning support processes help students move
successfully into and through secondary school, and on to further education, training and employment;6

career planning processes focus on the interests of each student. Access to high-performing academic,
careers and pastoral systems involve whānau, aiga and families who help students make well-supported
decisions about pathways, further education, training and employment;

clear and open communication engages whānau, aiga and families collaboratively as key influencers in the
transition process;

local education and employment networks support career development. They provide multiple learning
pathways, work experience opportunities, build industry and labour market awareness and expose students
to employability skills that prepare them for life after secondary school; and
6
Evaluation at a Glance: Transitions from Primary to Secondary School outlines factors in successful transitions and gives examples of
how schools can improve the quality of transitions (Education Review Office, December 2012). Other examples are described in
Towards equitable outcomes in secondary schools: Good practice (Education Review Office, May 2014).
Careers New Zealand
© Crown 2014

school structures enable students to feel known, have a strong sense of belonging, see schooling as relevant
to their post-school aspirations, experience success and be motivated to achieve well in their post-school
lives.7
As with the student career management competencies, the concept of transitions is a unifying thread in the suite
of Career Education Benchmarks.

It acknowledges the centrality of career development to the transition process and the specific role career
development specialists play in facilitating the development of careers-focused programmes and services
within this wider context.

The Career Education Benchmarks – Secondary advocate for a school-wide approach to career
development. This approach recognises the role that other student-centred processes, specialists and staff
play in preparing students for life beyond secondary school.
Priority student groups
An important challenge for New Zealand is the disparity in achievement between ethnic groups. Quality career
education programmes and services must be culturally responsive.
Māori students
The Government’s strategy Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013–2017,8 and in particular the Measurable
Gains Framework, is the foundation for the clear requirements in the benchmarks to address the needs of Māori
students and their whānau. It is particularly important that schools give priority to the career development needs
of Māori students and their whānau.
Pasifika students
The Government’s strategy Pasifika Education Plan 2013–20179 aims at raising Pasifika learners’ participation,
engagement and achievement from early learning through to tertiary education. To achieve this, learners need
access to good-quality advice and guidance to support their career development throughout their secondary
education. Success for Pasifika students requires the education system, leadership and curricula to place
Pasifika learners at the centre of teaching and learning.
Students with special education needs
Students with special education needs are less likely than their peers to go into employment, training or tertiary
education when they leave school. It is important that schools include these students in the provision of career
education in line with the Government’s programme Success for All – Every School, Every Child.10 In support of
this, the Ministry of Education has developed best practice guidelines for ensuring effective transitions for
students with special education needs.
Other priority student groups
The Ministry of Education has identified other priority groups who require a specific school response to their
career development needs. These groups include students from low-income families. Additionally, schools may
have other groups of students who need targeted assistance. Because each school has a unique community,
rather than specify groups of students the benchmarks refer to ‘priority groups’. It is the responsibility of the
school to identify and uniquely respond to these groups.
The Education Providers’ pages of the Vocational Pathways website explore structural responses that support effective transitions for
all students. The Pathwaysplus Programme is another useful source of information (Cognition Education, 2014).
7
8
See bibliography for a link to Ka Hikitia – Accelerating Success 2013–2017.
9
See bibliography for a link to the Pasifika Education Plan 2013–2017.
10
See bibliography for a link to information on Success for All – Every School, Every Child.
Careers New Zealand
© Crown 2014