A Smart Waikato-developed digital work readiness tool is available free to schools and youth services providers throughout New Zealand thanks to a new partnership.
Smart Waikato and Auckland Council-controlled charitable organisation COMET Auckland have joined forces to support youth-to-employment success by making the endorseMe work readiness system available to the 37 schools and youth services providers nationwide implementing COMET’s Youth Employability Programme (YEP): Licence to Work.
EndorseMe employability record, based on the New Zealand employability skills framework, is a way for young people to identify, record and develop skills or capabilities identified by employers as essential.
In an EMA survey of 1000 employers in 2015, they rated ‘soft skills’ included on the framework as among the most important requirements when hiring new employees. This reinforced the findings of a joint report by COMET and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Enhancing Youth Employability, which identified lack of employability and work-readiness skills as one of the main reasons for youth unemployment.
The endorseMe digital system includes a smartphone app for students and an on-line portal for co-ordinators, employers and other mentors, who endorse the young person for up to 30 work readiness attributes. These essential skills include positive attitude, communication, teamwork, self-management, willingness to learn, thinking skills and resilience.
EndorseMe gives young people the opportunity to be endorsed for their employability skills. Once they have started to collect endorsements on the app, they can print a summary and attach it to their CV.
Smart Waikato chief executive Mary Jensen is delighted the tool will be available to about 900 more young people nationwide thanks to the partnership.
“This is heartening collaboration between regions at a time when all young people are facing greater employment uncertainty due to Covid-19.”
EndorseMe, available free in Waikato, is powered by Career Central – New Zealand’s leading careers management platform for youth organisations. It is part of the full Career Central subscription or can be used as a standalone module.
Young people, employers or schools and youth organisations keen to use endorseMe must be registered with a co-ordinator or Smart NZ.
For information about endorseMe®, click here
