General News
1 July, 2024
Students chase their future at career expo
Agriculture, industry, manufacturing, tertiary education, policing and community and health services were among the many job opportunity areas on show at this year's Western Victoria Careers Expo.
Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN) project manager David Crooks hailed the event, at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days site at Longerenong, as a huge success.
The increasingly popular event attracted 85 exhibitors and almost 2000 students from 25 schools and colleges as far north as Manangatang and Ouyen to Hamilton in the south.
"We're really proud of the day and that we had a blend of everything," Mr Crooks said after the event.
"We catered for as many students as possible and we're really pleased with the standard of the exhibits.
"Many exhibitors commented how engaged the students were. They were keen to hear about possible careers and the path needed to get there."
Kaniva student Jessica Dunn, in year 12 at St Brigid's College in Horsham, who plans a career in the police force, said she appreciated the opportunity to speak with police from Wimmera Proactive Policing Unit as well as specialist officers from the Melbourne-based Critical Incident Response Team.
At the Victoria Police stand students also had the opportunity to try on safety gear used during operations as well as handle specialist equipment, including door jammers.
Other exhibitors included the Defence Force, Country Fire Authority and Ambulance Victoria.
At the LLEN exhibit students took a close look at a real-life occupation situation from a 3D perspective.
They donned special goggles and stood in the LLEN booth to take a 360-degree virtual look at a range of careers.
Mr Crooks said a cherry picker which lifted 35-metres into the air was a hit with students and more than 100 took the opportunity to take a free ride.
A Vocation Education and Training (VET) exhibition of three local Registered Training Organisations offered information on trade and certificates for students to Year 12 level and a Tertiary Info Roadshow, TIR, combined information from 15 universities.
A free bus from Horsham's Aquatic Centre allowed people other than students to attend the careers expo, which also attracted job seekers and people interested in changing careers.
Mr Crooks said some people had learnt about job offers while attending the event.