Career fairs to be held
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on February 21, 2016 1:45 AM
Some of Wayne County's future work force right now is still in middle school.
Local officials in education and business recognize this and are responding by offering two events to that demographic -- a career fair and a STEM Fair, to help students at the crossroads of planning their futures know just what types of jobs they might find after high school.
This marks the seventh annual Middle School Career Fair and the second year for the STEM Fair, said Karen Burnette, chair of the committee with Wayne Education Network, or WEN. WEN is a part of the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce.
This week, nearly 3,000 students will converge on the YMCA to take advantage of investigating local businesses and career paths that may be open to them in the future.
The events target students in middle grades because many of them are in the process of determining their high school classes, as well as making decisions about whether they plan to attend college or pursue a vocational track.
The Middle School Career Fair will be held on Tuesday and the STEM Fair will be on Wednesday, for eighth-graders and seventh-graders respectively. It will run from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. each day.
Approximately 1,500 students are expected for the career fair, representing public, private and home school populations. They have been preparing in advance for the opportunity, Mrs. Burnette said.
"The eighth-grade guidance counselors throughout the county school system have been working with students prior to the event to help them plan their areas of interest," she said. "They will be prepared to visit those career booths when they arrive at the fair.
"Students will be able to explore businesses or careers that they may not have experienced or seen before. We hope to broaden their career aspirations beyond what they may or may not have experienced thus far."
The goal is to shed light on new options the student may not have considered, or confirm a path the student may have long been interested in pursuing.
"We want to spark an interest to help our future workforce start setting goals so that they can be prepared to maximize the benefits of high school," Mrs. Burnette said. "I hope that the event will also show students how the skills and information they are learning now will help them in the future."
The business community has been very helpful in the success of the career fair over the years, she added, by supporting the program and donating the time of their employees to staff the booths.
In addition to WEN, Wayne County Public Schools and Wayne Community College have collaborated to create the annual STEM Fair, designed to bring a greater understanding of the options relating to careers in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math.
"The goal is to help students to understand their own potential in the areas of STEM, to help them build confidence and competence among their peers and to foster a spirit of scientific inquiry," Mrs. Burnette said. "The students will be given the opportunity to develop critical thinking skills and to improve their research, speech and writing skills."
This year's event will include three different areas of focus, she said.
"The first will challenge seventh grade students by allowing six from each school attending to participate in one of three STEM-related competitions at the event," she said. "The second area will be student exhibitors of all ages displaying STEM-based projects. This area is open to students of all ages including colleges and universities.
"The last area will be for area businesses to set up at tables and talk with students about challenges that they have worked through in their careers in the STEM field."
Any business that is interested in participating in the STEM Fair this year can still do so, by contacting Janet Brock at the Chamber, at 919-734-2247.