What is Tahatū?

Tahatū is the Tertiary Education Commission’s (TEC’s) new interactive careers website currently being piloted in some secondary schools across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Tahatū provides an interactive experience to help people figure out what kind of job they might like to do, and how they can get there. It connects information such as NCEA subjects, qualifications and career ideas in one place to help people make informed decisions.

Tahatū is the next generation of the careers.govt.nz website, refreshing the best of its content, tools and functions.

Tahatū is an important initiative under the National Careers System Strategy and a key objective in the Tertiary Education Strategy for the future of learning and work.

For more information on these strategies, see:

National Careers System Strategy

Tertiary Education Strategy

What does Tahatū mean?

The name Tahatū means ‘horizon’, especially in relation to the sea, and reflects our focus on a lifelong learning journey, heading towards the future.

The Tahatū logo depicts Ngā hau e whā, the four winds. The changing winds were the tohu (signs) our ancestors read to guide them. Tahatū will help users read the signs around them as they navigate their career journey.

Who is Tahatū for?

When publicly released, Tahatū will be for: 

• anyone who wants help finding out what career they might like to do in the future, and the steps they can take to get there
• people returning to the workforce after an absence
• people wanting a career change
• whānau, friends, school career advisers, and community or agency career practitioners.

Where is Tahatū being piloted?

Tahatū was released as a pilot to a small number of secondary schools across Aotearoa New Zealand in April 2024. More schools will be coming on board from late July this year and into 2025.

Feedback received from schools during the pilot will inform ongoing website development work, including enhancements, refinements and new features.

When will Tahatū be available to the wider public?

We expect Tahatū will be publicly available later in 2025 after the current pilot with secondary schools finishes.

What happens to careers.govt.nz?

While careers.govt.nz has served millions of New Zealanders over the last 20 years, technology has evolved. Tahatū offers an updated platform to support new, interactive careers planning technology.

Careers.govt.nz will be decommissioned once Tahatū is fully operational.

If you’re a career adviser or practitioner and have a question about the transition from careers.govt.nz to Tahatū, please email us at customerservice@tec.govt.nz.

For more information about Tahatū, see Tahatū.