CareerFest Open to Public Tonight - Full Exhibitors List
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CareerFest Southland is already underway, and if you missed the school sessions today, there's still time to get along tonight.
The free public session runs from 5pm to 7pm this evening at ILT Stadium Southland, with a second day on Friday from 9:45am to 1pm. Schools have are going through during the day, but the evening slot is open to anyone — adults, school leavers, people thinking about a change.
The expo brings together study providers, industry training organisations, employers and career support services under one roof. The idea is straightforward: give Southlanders a clear look at what's available, whether that's a trade apprenticeship, university study, or just a conversation about what's out there in the current job market.
The exhibitor list runs to more than 60 stands, covering a wide spread of industries and pathways. Universities represented include Otago, Canterbury, Lincoln and Victoria University of Wellington, alongside Otago Polytechnic, Southern Institute of Technology and Open Polytechnic. Trades and industry training are well covered too, with Connexis, MITO, BCITO, EarnLearn and Skills Trade & Institute all on the floor. Major local and regional employers showing up include Rio Tinto NZAS, Fonterra, Alliance Group, South Port, HW Richardson Group and Downer, with New Zealand Police and Defence Recruiting also in the mix. There's even a stand from the New Zealand College of Chiropractic and one from Aquaculture New Zealand, which points to just how broad the spread is — paths you might not have thought to look into are worth a wander. Full list below.
Entry is free. No tickets, no registration — just turn up.
For anyone weighing up their next move, or parents trying to help a teenager figure out their options, it's a rare chance to talk directly to the people who run these programmes rather than trawling through websites. With more than 60 exhibitors under one roof, two hours on a Thursday evening is a reasonable investment.
Full List of Exhibitors
1–2 University of Otago
3–6 Front-Line Training
7 Downer
8–9 New Zealand Police
10–18 Otago Polytechnic
19 TBC
20–21 Alliance Group
22 Lincoln University
23 Tertiary Education Commission
24 New Zealand College of Chiropractic
25 Agricentre South
26 Victoria University of Wellington
27 The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners
28 Yoobee Colleges & New Zealand School of Tourism
29 Findex
30 Survey and Spatial NZ – Southland Branch
31 The Y Southland
32 Connexis
33 EarnLearn
34 MITO
35 Open Polytechnic
36 HW Richardson Group
37 South Port Ltd
38–39 Advanced Manufacturing Aotearoa, Engage & Southland Engineering Businesses
40 University of Canterbury
41 Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand
42 Studylink
43 Shand Thomson
44–45 Skills Trade & Institute
46 Fonterra
47 Florence Nightingale Agency
48 Electoral Commission
49 Rio Tinto NZAS
50 Southern Group Training Trust
51 Queenstown Resort College
52–53 SBS Bank
54 Aquaculture New Zealand
55 Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga – Ministry of Education
56 Southern Wings Ltd
57 Discover Forestry
58 BCITO
59 McIntyre Dick
60–61 Defence Recruiting
62–76 Southern Institute of Technology