Tuesday 19th May was Workchoice Day for many year 12 high school students around New Zealand. Workchoice Day is a day Year 12 students (16-17yo) spend cruising through companies with the hope of getting a better understanding about the wonderful world of employment that lies ahead of them.

Author-it Software Corporation signed up to donate its office and its time this year as part of a community service. A fabulous volunteer team, headed by our HR Manager Amanda, put together a fun and informative agenda ready for the arrival of the students.

Macleans College was our first school to visit, with a mixed group of around 15 students. Both Julia (Accounts Assistant) and Richard (Business Development Manager) attended Macleans College back in their school days, so Julia met with the students, giving them a brief overview of what she’d done with her life since leaving Macleans. And afterwards, Richard did a short talk and basic demonstration about Author-it and how it works. An overview of the company and personal employment history was given by the company President Steve, as well as Amanda and Sarah (Reception/Admin Manager). A tour of the offices saw the students interacting with all the staff, asking questions about the various roles that interested them. A group lunch followed, where again the students talked to those whose jobs interested them the most.

After a quick clean-up, our next group arrived, a slightly smaller group of girls from St. Cuthberts College. Although shorter on time than the previous group, Steve, Amanda and Sarah did another company overview and personal working history, and another tour of the offices was given along with more questions (and plenty of giggles).

The students, supervisors and Workchoice Day co-ordinators alike gave us fantastic feedback. They were blown away by our culture and our people. Some of the comments we received, during and after the day: “Has opened my eyes to different careers in finance.” Another student said that what they found most interesting was “The emphasis placed on work culture”. Barbara, the supervisor from St. Cuthberts College, said that “you did convey a very enlightened culture and a happy and supportive workplace.” Since being involved with these schools, Amanda has been invited to speak at a Careers Evening held by St. Cuthberts School. A real credit to her and the efforts she took to make this day a success.

Thank you to all the volunteers, including Steve, Amanda, Richard, Danielle, John and Julia, who took time out of their working day to be with the students. Another big thanks to everyone in the office for being so accommodating with the student’s questions and willingly having your quiet working day interrupted. We look forward to another successful Workchoice Day next year!

Posted by Sarah Smith, Reception/Admin Manager, Author-it Software Corporation