By STEFAN BRADLEY
MORE than 500 job seekers – or those with career curiosities – showed up for a Jobs and Careers Fair last month, speaking with potential future employers from Gippsland.
Students from Years 9 all the way to Year 12 were both daunted by their potential futures, while at the same time armed with informed questions with the employers running booths.
With job hunting on Seek and Indeed the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack, the opportunity for job seekers to mingle with local employers was a great opportunity for anyone of any age to check out the displays.
Caitlyn Guppy from Workforce Australia said the event aimed to promote local opportunities for the community.
“So, whether that be a career or a local job or advertising for a local business, it’s just really about connecting the community to what we have available.
“It’s a really great event for the community and we want to keep it going,” she said of the event, which was this year, held in Sale.
Darren Biggs, also from Workforce Australia, said more than 1000 text messages were sent to unemployed people in the area in the hope many of them attended.
“We expect we’ll get a third, maybe a couple of hundred of those turn up and they’ll walk around and talk to people,” he said.
Mr Biggs said there had been a downturn in retail in country areas and a “whole lot of empty shops”.
Year 10 student Malachi from Yarram Secondary College told the Express his main area of interest was graphic design.
“I really like all the design stuff, especially the marketing. I just want to test different variants of graphic design,” Malachi said.
Zachiah Khan, marketing and recruitment at Federation University, said it was wonderful having the high school students stop by.
“It’s great they can see what’s available in our local region. At the end of the day, you don’t know what we can’t see,” Ms Khan said.
Ms Khan said students asked her about nursing and other healthcare career paths.
“We need a lot more people working in those key areas where there are (worker) shortages. So it’s wonderful to see that. And they’re asking questions about what they can go on to do once they finish high school,” Ms Khan said.
Ms Khan and the university wasn’t promoting any particular vacant job, but the educational institutions like Federation University and TAFE Gippsland played an important role in nurturing the careers of young Gippslanders, as well as older people making a career change.
Part of the Federation University alumni herself, Ms Khan said the institution was “very much community”.
“So everybody knows you, you’re not competing with hundreds and hundreds of other students,” she said.
TAFE Gippsland Koorie Liaison Officer, Ricky Mentha said he had been speaking to students about their potential pathways after high school, which for some may include trades and/or TAFE.
“We’re about promoting young people to be the best of themselves. It’s a real privilege to be here and contribute to the beautiful community of Gippsland,” he said.
Mr Mentha hoped the TAFE would be able to help young people who may not have finished high school and help them find their way into jobs and industries. He had a Koorie quiz at the display and hoped students would engage with Indigenous culture and recognise its contributions to Australian society.
