Jonessa Sargent and Lena Michael, both John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute students, have come to a scary and exciting turning point. Both young women are about a month away from finishing high school. Both plan to enter the workforce before anything else.
The first job fair of its kind, geared to youth like Sargent and Michael - graduating high school students who want to work instead of entering post-secondary education - was held Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre.
Upper Grand District School Board’s Youth Employment Opportunity Fair, supported by the Career Education Council, the Specialist High Skills Major Program, and 2nd Chance Employment Counselling, attracted 100s of young job seekers.
It was unique because it was the first large-scale fair geared to addressing the reality that 50 per cent of Ontario high school students go to work right out of high school, said Charles Benyair.
Benyair is specialist in high skills major and technological education lead with Upper Grand. While there are plenty of job fairs for college and university students, high schoolers have heretofore been overlooked.
But that 50 per cent heading into the workforce has been a consistent average since the 1950s. It’s about time employers and those students in the Upper Grand system meet.
Upper Grand is making an effort to make the transition from school to employment a little easier. Of the many employers on hand at the fair, all were looking to hire. Among them were a chef school and hairdressing academy, a maker of off-road recreational vehicles and other manufacturers, carpentry companies, and the army reserve.
“I want to get as much work and life experience as I can before going into higher education,” Lena Michael said, adding she is looking for any kind of work that gives her skills with people. She plans to study law and get into politics after getting some good work/life skills.
“It’s about the same for me,” said Sargent. “I want to gain skills that I can use is other aspects of my life. I’d like to be an entrepreneur, but I’m still figuring out what kind of business I want to get into.”
Both Sargent and Michael seemed somewhat shocked that their high school life is about end. At the same time, they are excited by their prospects.
Paula Roth is in human resources at New Hamburg-based Ontario Drive and Gear Limited, the maker of the Argo line of all-terrain vehicles. She was looking for 10 hires at the fair, and said the company is growing and is always willing to hire youth right out of high school.
“We do bring a lot of kids onto our Argo assembly lines and as general labourers in our gear division,” she said, adding that the company provides educational assistance programs for the right candidates, and an apprenticeship program. There have been a few success stories of young people moving up the ranks in the company.
“It all depends on the motivation level of the person,” she said.
If one of these young workers feels it’s best to quick and move on to college or university, the company will wish them all the best, she said.
“For the most part they are good workers,” she said. Efforts are made to ensure that the work is not overly repetitive, and that several skills are learned.
Kathy Kuper of La Luma Academy, a Guelph styling school and salon, said there are apprenticeships that can give a person just out of school a start in the profession, or there are one-year training programs offered by an academy.
“We’re here to share what we do as an academy, and show them what the options are,” she said, adding there are many opportunities in the field.
“Upper Grand is interested in supporting the pathway from high school to work,” Benyair added. “Some of these young people may be looking to work their way up in a company, or just to take a couple of years off of school to figure out what they want to do.”
Most of the students that attended the fair were job-ready, having received some instruction in resume writing, interview skills, and how to ask the right questions of a potential employer, said Melissa McDowall, student success curriculum leader with Upper Grand.
Matching the skill sets of the young employee with the needs of employers is an important part of the equation.
“We are preparing them for success in the workforce,” Benyair said.
Employers at the fair were recruiting for summer, part-time, full-time or entry-level career opportunities.
