The Ministry of Education is the Government’s lead advisor on the education system. We’re here to shape an education system that delivers excellence and equitable outcomes. We aim to make the biggest difference we can for every child, young person and student in our education system.
We’re an organisation of more than 4000 people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, working in nine business groups, at 38 locations, in ten regions across New Zealand. The snapshots below demonstrate our reach:
Here at the Ministry of Education, we support young people to develop skills and experiences through our student career programmes. We encourage new and fresh perspectives from people with diverse skills, knowledge and experience. The Ministry is a great place to kick start your professional career.
You could be helping shape education policy as a policy advisor, supporting students who need learning support as an educational psychologist, or collaborating with iwi and Pacific communities. There are also exciting projects in IT, HR, finance or communications. And these are just a small number of the opportunities we have on offer.
This programme is for people who are interested in building a career in policy. We’re focused on delivering excellent and equitable outcomes for our increasingly diverse population and working with us gives you the chance to help shape New Zealand’s education system. Our policy community is extensive and we have teams covering Pacific education, early childhood, Māori education, tertiary, learning support, infrastructure, international and much more. This is a great opportunity for you to contribute to improving outcomes for our whānau, communities and wider New Zealand.
Our structured 18 month development programme offers:
This is a 12-week paid internship over the summer holidays, open to all students who have completed at least two years of tertiary study (including recent graduates). Opportunities are available in lots of different areas throughout the organisation. You’ll be working on real projects with experienced colleagues who’ll support you to develop your skills and knowledge, and make the most of your time with us. For examples of the type of work you could be doing during your internship, check our graduate stories.
Other opportunities
The Learning Support area of the Ministry is charged with leading the Education sector to ensure that children and young people with additional learning needs are supported to achieve their full potential through education.
Our Learning Support specialists work closely with families, whānau, caregivers, schools and early childhood educators in English and Māori medium settings and other agencies to help maximise learning outcomes and promote social inclusion.
We’re the largest employer of Educational Psychologists and one of the largest employers of Speech Language Therapists (SLT) in New Zealand. An ongoing priority for the Ministry is supporting pathways into these key positions. We offer scholarships for these programmes to open the door to a diverse and rewarding career. In this profession you will work with a rich variety of cases and interact with schools and early learning services, parents, whānau, children and young people.
Find out more about our educational psychology, child and family psychology internship scholarships and speech language therapy scholarships on our website.
We need diverse skills and knowledge, and there are lots of different career opportunities available for those early in their career. Keep an eye on our Opportunities tab as well as our careers centre for opportunities outside of our programmes.