Pathways & Careers

Empowering Hope and Shaping Futures at KingsWay School

What is Your Career?

Your career is your whole lifelong journey — all the things you learn, try, experience, and grow through.
It includes your part‑time jobs, hobbies, strengths, culture, friendships, volunteering, study choices, family influences, and the goals you’re building for your future.
Your career isn’t just one job — it’s the story of who you are becoming and how you want to make an impact in your world.

(Career Development Institute (CDI, 2022): career as a sequence of varied life/work roles and a way to make sense of opportunities and wider life roles. [thecdi.net])

Career Education

Career education is the planned, progressive learning that helps young people develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes they need to understand themselves, explore opportunities, make decisions, and manage their lifelong career journey.

https://education.qld.gov.au/careers/apprentices-and-trainees/school-to-work/career-education

Our qualified Careers Counsellor, Cherie Perrow (Master of Career Development), partners with students to equip and empower them in making informed, meaningful decisions about their next steps beyond school.

Year 11:

Cadi Clusters Approach:

• Students take part in a CADI Clusters workshop, where they explore their strengths, interests, and developing identity. Instead of viewing careers as single jobs — which change quickly — students learn a modern career‑cluster mindset, understanding work as groups of strengths, skills, and ways of contributing that align with who they are becoming. CADI stands for the Cluster Approach to Development of Identity, helping students recognise where they naturally connect with 1-2 strong career clusters, as they consider future subjects and pathways.
• Parent Resource: CADI – A cluster approach to the development of identityCadi Clusters help you understand the kind of work you’re naturally suited to, and the quick 5‑minute quiz matches your strengths and interests to one of six career clusters so you can explore pathways that fit you best.
• Cadi Cluster Quiz

Year 12:

Gallup Strengths:

• Students dive into discovering their Top 5 Gallup Strengths through LifeLab and step into a dynamic series of workshops led by Mrs Perrow and Mrs Clark. With their personalised Strengths Workbook in hand, they uncover, explore, and grow their God‑given talents—building confidence, purpose, and a clearer sense of the unique person they were created to become.
• Gallup / Clifton Strengths

North Shore Careers Expo:

• All year 12 students attend the North Shore Careers Expo, gaining valuable insights into a wide range of career and tertiary options.

Futures Thinking Workshop:

• In Year 12, students will take part in an inspiring workshop with Chris Clay, who will deepen their career mindset and spark creative, future‑focused thinking. He will guide students to explore emerging possibilities, evolving technologies, and the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world of work. This session encourages students to look beyond traditional pathways and build the adaptability and curiosity essential for navigating the future with confidence.

Year 13:

Career Guidance:

• One-on-one career appointments are available exclusively for Year 13 students. These sessions provide personalised support to help students clarify their career direction, next steps and how to navigate their career journey.

North Shore Careers Expo:

• All year 13 students attend the North Shore Careers Expo, gaining valuable insights into a wide range of career and tertiary options.

Gateway – Year 12 and 13:

Gateway is a Tertiary Education Commission (TEC)‑funded programme that provides Year 12–13 students with structured, real‑world workplace learning to help them build the skills, confidence, and experience needed for future work.  Gateway is a subject option that connects in‑class learning with industry‑aligned courses and a personalised work‑experience placement, giving students the chance to develop the specific knowledge and competencies required in real workplaces. The purpose of Gateway, as outlined by the Tertiary Education Commission, is to equip senior learners with formalised workplace learning, clear skill development, and assessment opportunities that support strong transitions from school into further training or employment.
Gateway Funding

We need our community:

KingsWay School welcomes the local community, organisations and businesses to be part of our Gateway Programme. If you can offer a place for one of our learners, please get in touch with our Gateway Coordinator: Hannah.jennings@kingsway.school.nz

Career Information

All KingsWay Career Resources are available on our CareerWise website.

Tahatū Career Navigator:

Tahatū Career Navigator is the Tertiary Education Commission’s new, official careers website for New Zealanders. It replaces careers.govt.nz and brings together up‑to‑date information on nearly 100 NCEA subjects, 4,000+ qualifications and courses, and 800+ career ideas in one place to help rangatahi (and their whānau) plan pathways from school to further study, training, and work.

You can access it here: tahatu.govt.nz.

North Shore Careers Expo:

All year 12 and 13 students attend the North Shore Career Expo and is your major event to explore ideas for your future career. Discover a wide range of education, training and career options all in one place and take advantage of the opportunity to talk face-to-face with the experts. Our 2026 visit will take place on the 21^st of May during school.

Careers Information Hub in the Library:

• Your future is calling… find career ideas, tools, and inspiration in the library’s Careers Section!

Future Ready Lunchtime Presentations:

• To support your child’s next steps, we host dynamic tertiary lunchtime presentations that open doors to future opportunities and empower them to plan with confidence.

Pathways Faculty 2026 Calendar Dates and Events

Our Team

Mrs Cherie Perrow – Head of Pathways & Careers
Mrs Karen van Wyk – Pathways Administrator
Mrs Nikki Clark – Gateway Teacher
Mrs Hannah Jennings – Gateway Work-placement Coordinator

Location: Senior School Library
Phone: 09 200 1931
Open: Monday to Friday from 8:45am – 3:15pm

Email: karen.vanwyk@kingsway.school.nz   cherie.perrow@kingsway.school.nz

Career Central

Tahatu.govt.nz

Student Job Directory