21C Prizegiving Challenge

Right now it’s prizegiving season, where most New Zealand secondary schools celebrate the achievements of their “best and brightest” in subjects, sport, culture and service; and assure us that the school’s superior academic results mean our kids are being successfully prepared for the future.

Do we, as NZ businesses, communities and parents, accept this? Are our young people really ready to survive and thrive in the rapidly changing world of work? Are our schools too focused on academic scores at the expense of critical 21st century (21C) skills like creativity, curiosity, collaborative problem-solving, communication, teamwork, tenacity, global competence and growth mindset that are critical for the jobs of the future - and now? The 41% of NZ employers who are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the work readiness of school leavers and the 46% who are struggling to find skilled labour clearly have their doubts.

We want to help New Zealand schools and communities recognise and value the importance of 21C skills, and show our young people how critical these work-ready skills are when it counts - at their annual prizegiving.

Our vision is that each of our 374 secondary schools throughout NZ can award a prize, sponsored by a NZ business, honouring a Y13 student exhibiting outstanding 21C skills in their 2019 senior prizegiving ceremony.

We challenge NZ businesses, large and small, to pledge $200 (or $200 x however many prizes you want to award), to provide a prize for exceptional 21C skills to a student at a secondary school you choose or in a region you specify, with your business's name on it.

We also welcome general donations of any amount towards the campaign goal of $100,000.

If you want to donate for a particular school (or region), please note that in the "Comment" field.

To find out more, visit us at www.21cskillslab.com/21c-prizegiving-challenge and check out our NZ Herald opinion piece here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12155872

#21CPrizegivingChallenge #SkillsNotScores