The gap in NZ’s high school curriculum

The Government’s new high school curriculum promises to prepare students for the future. It adds subjects in artificial intelligence (AI), data science, civics, Pacific studies and more. But it has overlooked the one subject that ties all this together: entrepreneurship.

Let’s be clear. This is far broader than teaching teenagers how to write business plans or encouraging every Year 13 student to launch a start-up.

Entrepreneurship education is about building self-confidence, learning how to act when the available information is incomplete, developing the ability to navigate ambiguity and uncertainty, solving problems creatively, and bringing together the people and resources to make things happen.

These are the skills that increasingly determine success in every career and are essential to tackling our biggest social, economic and environmental challenges.

Why entrepreneurship matters

Employers say they want graduates who can take initiative, adapt quickly, and work well with others. These are the qualities that enable people to thrive in a world shaped by technological disruptors like AI, and global economic, social and environmental challenges.

Entrepreneurship education teaches young people how to spot opportunities, design solutions, test ideas, overcome challenges and see projects through to completion. It shows them that uncertainty is not something to fear but a space where creativity can flourish.

Importantly, entrepreneurship connects directly with the very subjects being introduced to the curriculum: applying STEM knowledge to real problems, learning to communicate ideas, making ethically and culturally informed decisions, and linking theory with practice.

Lessons from overseas

New Zealand is lagging behind on entrepreneurship education. Denmark has embedded the subject from primary school to PhD level, backed by national teacher training. Finland makes “working life competence and entrepreneurship” a requirement across all subjects, while Singapore partners schools with industry to deliver applied entrepreneurship programmes.

These countries and many others have recognised that entrepreneurship is not about producing a wave of tycoons. Instead, it equips every learner with resilience, imagination and initiative. Entrepreneurial thinking is a set of basic skills that all students are entitled to, not just those lucky enough to be able to access special programmes.

The equity issue

Without deliberate inclusion, entrepreneurship education in New Zealand will remain patchy, dependent on philanthropy and programmes like the Young Enterprise Scheme, which, while excellent, only reach some schools. This risks making it an advantage for the few rather than a core capability for all. Done well, entrepreneurship education is as much an equity strategy as it is an economic one, levelling up all students’ ability to overcome barriers and deal with the challenges ahead.

Too late at university

At the University of Auckland, our Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship regularly sees the benefits of entrepreneurship education. More than 13,000 students have taken part since 2018, developing confidence, creativity and the ability to act. Participants in our programmes have had an outsized impact in many fields.

But university is too late in the pipeline. By the time students arrive at university, the foundation should already be in place. Without it, we are playing catch-up. And it means we miss all those students who move directly into the workforce, including some who start businesses and could immediately apply their school experience.

A missed opportunity

This curriculum reform is a once-in-a-generation chance to reimagine education. The Government’s plan to add new subjects is welcome, but without entrepreneurship, it misses the very framework that could bring them together. Literacy and numeracy open the door. Entrepreneurship ensures young people know what to do once they step through it.

If the Government is serious about preparing students for the future of work, entrepreneurship should be built into the heart of the new curriculum.