Future of Work - Marlborough youth conference

"Future of Work" is a conference for rangatahi (youth) in Marlborough. This highly successful conference showcases what the workplace of tomorrow looks like for our local youth - and inspires them to become part of the region’s future. Future of Work supports students whether they’re headed to university, into trades, or have no idea what they want to do after school – assisting all young people to discover a purposeful pathway into their future.

Meeting a Need

It was first created in 2019 in direct response to locally identified need. At the time Marlborough District Council held a “Skills and Labour Shortage” summit attended by over 100 people from across Marlborough businesses and the community.  A key outcome from this was that “engaging our youth better in local employment opportunities” was seen to be an overwhelming priority for the region.

In 2019 Future of Work began with 150 tickets available to local young people. The tickets were entirely snatched up within 72 hours of being made available. In 2020 we had to cancel the conference due to Covid lockdown. In 2021 in response to feedback and demand, we doubled the ticket provision and again 'sold out' within days. This underlines the value our young people placed on the conference, and the strong demand for this. In 2022 we were able to engage over 800 young people over the day’s event, and in 2023 we collaborated more closely with every local college to make this event even more impactful and far-reaching - and had around 1,800 Year 7-13 students and their whānau attend. In 2024 we were able to expand it further to around 2,000 ākonga (and their whānau).

The Specifics

It is a core philosophy of Future of Work that it is entirely free for the students to attend - to assist equitable access.

Future of Work is made up of several integrated parts. For example, in previous years this has included: 

• A diverse range of inspiring speakers and presenters
• "Workshops" - providing meaningful opportunities for skill and knowledge development. 
• "Interactive Workstation Zone" - industry demonstrations and interactive experiences highlighting technological changes and career pathways.
• A "Whānau Session" - for rangatahi to come and connect with the Interactive Workstations with their parents/whānau, and for parents to find out more and be able to support their child in their choices. 

It is proposed that financial investment provided by the MDC Economic Development unit (Labour and Skills) in 2024 is replicated in 2025-27 to assist with the ongoing continuity of the event.

Future of Work is a highly successful event by any measure. Examples of recent evaluation results are available on request.

With 900% growth in attendance and almost 100% recommendation rates from youth and industry alike, it is clear it is meeting an important need and making a difference.

It’s efficacy and excellence has been recognised on the national stage – being awarded “Highly Commended” in the Economic Development NZ 2023 “Best Practice Awards”; and named a finalist in the prestigious NZ Events Association 2023 awards.

Without Future of Work there is nothing of its kind for Marlborough youth. Its excellence is measured in the immediate feedback (of students, colleges, and community, as noted above) but also in large part in its legacy outcomes. Future of Work is bridging the disconnect between young people and industry, and supporting rangatahi to see themselves in the workplaces of the future.

The conference also aims to inspire our youth to envisage a future for themselves in Marlborough; to encourage them to stay in Marlborough, or go away to study and travel – and come back. Future of Work has been directly attributed to a number of students being employed in long-term career pathways with Marlborough employers.

Future of Work has become a ‘must do’ event for industry, and one ‘not to be missed’ for rangatahi. The level of community and school support indicates the value our community pace on this unique opportunity for our region’s young people.