School holidays a business opportunity for some

massey-university

Fri Jul 03 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

School holidays a business opportunity for some

Friday, 3 July 2009, 10:47 am
Press Release: Massey University

Friday, July 3, 2009

Year-12 and 13 secondary school pupils from as far away as Wanaka in Otago and Otamatea in Northland are giving up part of their holidays to get some real life business skills as part of New Zealand Business Week at the Massey University.

Next Tuesday 75 pupils will be at the Manawatu campus to gain practical experience and hear first hand from some specialist College of Business speakers. They will be welcomed to by Manawatu Regional Registrar (Student Life) Dr Sandi Shillington, hear about leadership and goal setting from senior lecturer in management and former Black Ferns captain Dr Farah Palmer, and play the NZ Investment Game under the guidance of creator Frank Newman. Massey Vice Chancellor Steve Maharey will be the final speaker of the day.

The campus visit is part of week-long programme organised by the University, Palmerston North Boys High School and Rotary. It is an annual event being held since 1991. A key aspect of the programme is the formation of virtual companies, for which participants make decisions on marketing, personnel, business ethics and production in order to develop and grow a successful business.

As well as giving pupils the opportunity to interact with local and national business people and combine academic learning with business decision-making, Business Week also emphasises personal development such as confidence, leadership and team work.

College business manager Tom Quelch says feedback about the event from participants in previous years has been outstanding feedback about the week. “We’re really opening the eyes of these young people up to the business world. The association with NZ Business Week is a great fit for the college. It fits exactly with our ethos – creating leaders, transforming business.”

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That certainly proved to be the case for Toyota New Zealand marketing manager Mark Young, who was part of the first Business New Zealand Week 18 years ago. “It definitely shaped my future. I found that at school you were quite constrained with what you actually learn about economics and accounting, so the New Zealand Business Week really opened up the possibilities and crystallised where I wanted to take my career.”

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