Career expo draws thousands of students

Whether they had a good idea of ​​what they hoped to do, or simply were exploring their options, thousands of local students had a chance to take an up-close look at various positions during this week’s LivingCK career expo and job fair in Chatham.

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The well-attended event, held at the John D. Bradley Convention Center on Wednesday and Thursday, featured about 50 employers, as well as various educational institutions, on site.

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Some of the jobs included skilled trades, emergency services, health care, manufacturing and construction, with participants trying out equipment and learning more from those in the industry.

Victoria Bodnar, the municipality’s manager of community attraction and promotion, was pleased with the turnover, adding the interactive displays can help spark a young person’s interest.

“They’re really excited about the variety of careers that are shown,” she said Thursday. “They also get to have some hands-on experience. They’re really enjoying it.

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“I think that’s made all the difference. The different ways to absorb the information and be able to talk to people face-to-face.”

In addition to students, members of the general public were able to take part Wednesday afternoon, with 850 attending that day. A total of 3,000 students from Grade 7 to 12 came through the expo during the two days.

Bodnar said the need for skilled labor already is here and will only increase in the coming years.

“There are continuing to be more and more opportunities for jobs in Chatham-Kent,” she said, adding that 18,500 positions are expected by 2030.

One big attraction was the Skills Ontario trades and tech truck, which featured tools, electronics and a heavy equipment simulator within its trailer.

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Hayley MacKay, program manager for the truck, which travels to various exhibitions and other events, was impressed with the public response, as well as the caliber of exhibits and the facility itself.

“Skilled trades are great first-option careers,” she said. “You don’t have to leave your community to get a job. And a lot of the time you don’t actually have to pay for schooling. You can go through an apprenticeship.”

Calling the interactive experience “crucial,” MacKay said the organization continues to find different ways to promote the trades to young people and their parents.

“If they get to actually try it, it goes way further,” she said.

Mark Benoit, St. Clair College’s chair for the school of academic studies, said the institution was promoting 14 programs, such as powerline, electrical engineering and nursing.

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“All of the programs we brought, there’s a high demand for individuals in those particular career fields,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of activity at our booth, which has been great,” Benoit said.

Monsignor Uyen elementary school Grade 7 pupils Quinn Phillips and Oliver Formosa said they were learning a lot at the expo.

“The robotics and engineering stuff is really cool,” Phillips said, adding he appreciated the opportunity to see the equipment in action.

Formosa was hoping to find out more about the legal profession.

“You can defend people…I just think it’s interesting,” he said. “You can see all the different jobs. It’s almost like a sample.”

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