ESTEVAN - The Estevan Comprehensive School hosted a busy evening career fair on Nov. 2 at the school's cafetorium.
Career development counsellors Ashley Cote and Stacy Dutka said they were happy with the turnout and how the event went.
"We think it went over really well. We had about 45 booths set up, and it was a good mix of local businesses, industry partners and post-secondary institutions. So, there was something for everyone, whether you're carrying on to post-secondary or wanting to enter the workforce," Cote said. "We were also pretty excited about the number of students and parents that were in attendance."
They noted that following last year's success, they decided to go with the evening format again this year, as it allows the parents to join their kids when they are searching for ideas for their future.
"We have really enjoyed the evening event because the parents are able to attend with their students. And we find that very valuable. I think parents want to be involved in those conversations," Cote said.
"And I feel it's important that they're involved. [An evening event] gives them that opportunity as well," Dutka added.
Participation was on par with the previous years, with different organizations coming from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and even B.C., as well as from North Dakota. The local opportunities were also well represented, which Dutka said they are always grateful for.
"It felt pretty full, which is great. We like it to be busy," Dutka said. "And we always want to thank our community partners, the local people that are willing to come forward and set up booths, answer questions with our students and share their knowledge."
The event was open to all high school students in Grades 9-12, and a lot of them were exploring their opportunities with a genuine interest.
"I had some feedback from the presenters last night that they were really impressed with the curiosity of the students. It wasn't necessarily just students asking about the application process. They were more inquiring about the program offerings or how to go through an apprenticeship or where to look for employment. So, the kids and the parents and guardians seemed more intrigued with what's out there, as opposed to how do I get into it," Dutka noted.
"And we had some really interesting interactive booths as well this year. We had some demos from SaskPower and some virtual reality headsets by Energy Safety Canada. That was interesting," Cote added.
They also noted that it seemed that the students were equally interested in education and employment opportunities.
