In brief

  • Around six hundred ākonga ‘learners’ attended the MIT and Unitec Summer Job Expo at Manukau campus.
  • Thirty employers connected with students about summer work, entry-level roles and longer-term career pathways.
  • The expo gave ākonga the opportunity to meet employers face-to-face, explore career options and build connections for their next steps.

The turnout exceeded the four hundred students who had registered for the event, with thirty employers attending across the two-and-a-half-hour expo.

The event gave ākonga the opportunity to speak directly with employers about summer work, entry-level roles and longer-term career pathways, while finding out what employers are looking for when recruiting.

“The Summer Job Expo is about giving our ākonga the opportunity to meet employers face-to-face, ask questions and find out what opportunities are available to them,” says Maureen Prasad from the Industry Partnership team at MIT and Unitec.

“For some, that might lead to a summer job, while for others it can be the start of a connection or an idea about where their studies could take them. Having around six hundred students attend shows there is a real appetite among our ākonga to make those connections and start thinking about their next steps,” Maureen says.

Mechanical Engineering Level 3 Pre-Trades student Alex Jackson, who is looking towards an apprenticeship after completing her course, says meeting employers helped her explore what her next steps could look like.

“I’ve been to a few of these now and every time there’s always something new. There’s always something to learn, new employers to meet,” Alex says.

“Even if it’s not their expertise, they will tell me, you know, check out this booth or go speak to those people. So, they’ve been helping me to see what my pathway could look like, what my career could look like after this.”

For employers, the expo provided an opportunity to meet students at different stages of their study and have conversations about their interests, experience and career plans.

Auckland Airport recruitment lead Marlini Naidoo who has showcased at previous Summer Job Expo’s says she has noticed a change in conversations over the years.

“I think now the students are definitely more engaging.

“When they come to the table they’re asking a lot more engaging questions, which makes our job a lot easier as well because we’re here and we just want to obviously give them the best opportunity they have at finding whether it’s casual work or just gaining some experience in the working industry.”

The Auckland Airport team spoke to students about opportunities across the organisation, including customer service roles that can provide an entry point into the airport.

Ms Naidoo says employers are not necessarily expecting students applying for beginner roles to arrive with extensive experience. Communication skills, curiosity and a willingness to learn can be important, while customer service experience can also provide transferable skills.

Auckland Airport Recruiter Janice Lo says the team looks at how candidates interact with others and what they could bring to the workplace.

“We don’t expect you to have lots of experience especially with our beginner roles.

“We’re more looking for a good, I guess, team fit. We do have a really, really diverse big workforce.”

Being able to connect with students in South Auckland is also one of the reasons the organisation continues to attend MIT and Unitec employment events.

“I think for us it’s being part of the community and really living that part of our strategy as the airport, that we are here to support the community within South Auckland,” Ms Naidoo says.

For first-time exhibitor My Retail Career, the level of interest from students stood out.

Co-founder and General Manager Kerry Lila says the team had been speaking with students about Christmas employment and helping them understand how to put themselves forward to potential employers.

“They just really, really want to work. They really want to get into employment and some of them, it’s just about having that confidence to go the next step. What is it that I need to do? Who do I want to work for?” she says.

Ms Lila says summer and Christmas roles can also provide students with experience and skills that are useful beyond retail.

Her own career began with a summer job at a retail store before she went on to spend more than thirty years working in the sector.

“The kind of essence of working in retail is it’s not about being the biggest personality in the room. It’s just actually genuinely caring about people.

“As long as you’ve got a genuine care about helping people, you’ll do really well in retail.”

Healthcare employers at the expo were also speaking with students about opportunities available during and after their studies.

Tāmaki Health Head of People and Culture Operations Santosh Parab says students were asking about where its clinics were located and the types of roles available.

The organisation was discussing opportunities including medical reception, healthcare technician and nursing roles with students.

Mr Parab says the expo had also allowed Tāmaki Health to meet students interested in opportunities after graduation as well as those whose existing skills could suit entry-level positions.

“We’ve got a few leads from here, students who are really interested to come and work for us once they have done their graduation. And even students who are looking for medical reception-type roles, like entry-level roles, because they’ve got a business admin background.”

Lifecare Northern Regional Manager Lini Justus also saw a difference in the conversations she had depending on where students were in their study journey.

For those at the beginning of their studies, there was curiosity about possible careers, while students nearing graduation were more focused on the opportunities available to them.

“They showed a lot of interest, one, in understanding what we do, and two, in seeing what opportunities are there for them.”

Lifecare was attending for the first time and spoke with students about occupational health, including occupational health technician and occupational health nurse roles.

Attracting new talent was an important reason for taking part, particularly because the organisation already employs a number of recent graduates.

“A huge part of our Auckland team, which I manage, is fresh graduates. So, helping them build the skill sets to take the next step in their careers is what we do, and what we enjoy doing.”

The second annual, Industry Connect will be held for the Building Construction, Architecture, Engineering, Trades and Electrical ākonga on Tuesday 6 October 2026 from 2 to 5pm at the Mataaho Trades Building, Mt Albert Campus.