General News
8 August, 2025
Western Vic Careers Expo not just for students
ALTHOUGH a central component of the Western Victorian Careers Expo held last month was facilitating pathways for students to a career in a given industry, Wimmera Southern Mallee Local Learning and Employment Network careers manager, David Crooks said it was important the wider community knew the scope of the event was actually much broader.
“We work really closely with our job active providers to actually get people there that are looking for work or currently unemployed, or career changers,” he said.
“We work hard to promote it as a general public event, and I think we had around 300 additional people attend that weren't students.”
The annual show has been running since 1986, with its importance and growth in connecting job seekers to industry reflected in the number of attendees – and the distance they travel to get there.
“The careers expo is a standalone event that pulls 26 regional colleges and secondary schools from right across western Victoria,” Mr Crooks said.
“Our Wimmera Mallee zone has 13 (schools), we pulled another 13 secondary colleges from as far south as Hamilton, we had Mortlake … (and) we had our first ever metropolitan school come up – Saints College out of Sunshine.
“The Western Victorian Careers Expo is one of the largest expos in regional Victoria – it's a really successful event.
"It started off in just the school hall at Horsham College and we've now grown to the largest event space in the Wimmera.”
Asked about the balance of categories offered for people to peruse, Mr Crooks said it was “pretty evenly split between our exhibitors”.
“We had 100 exhibitors this year, and we had 32 industry and businesses at 26 community organisations and then 27 tertiary organisations,” he said.
He said he believed it stood out as not being so “heavily laden with tertiary universities” with a “real even split across pathways and information”.
“Ours tends to be more business focused or job focused,” Mr Crooks said.
“We have great support from the healthcare groups and shire councils and the community organisations as well – so it's a real mix, it’s a ripper day.”
Mr Crooks said the motive for prospective employers to be at the event was clear, especially with the sparse population in rural areas and the need to connect.
“Their incentive is to pipeline some workforce,” he said.
“All this actually gives them a larger base to promote to. So if they've got vacancies, they can promote them on the day. They can provide lots of flyers and information about who to speak to when they're looking for work.
“Particularly in places like Hopetoun or Nhill – those sort of places that don't have much industry in town, so to get a job at the hospital or healthcare group, it's pretty valuable for kids.
“So they work really hard on (providing) a pathway for a future workforce – because in small towns, where are the people going to come from?”
With the event being a highlight of his year working with WSMLLEN, he said he was also witnessing the impact of technology on agriculture and how there was an ongoing trend from employers wanting “a 15-year-old mechanic that was just interested in using their hands” to more technically-minded teenagers with more advanced skills.
“They want Year 11 and Year 12 students with some technical ability, some computer skills, and stronger reading and writing skills than we've ever had in a mechanic before,” Mr Crooks said.
“We see that transition … the Department of Education is really strong on ‘let's get kids to Year 12’, because that's where Level 3 education is delivered.”
The related endeavour of encouraging school-based apprenticeships and work experience that allows students to “still get their Year 12 maths and English” was an important part of his work and background to the expo, and he was looking forward to next year’s milestone event as part of his ongoing work.
“It’ll be our 40th year next year,” Mr Crooks said.
“I think we’ll work harder to maybe get some special guests – have a bit more of a celebration event.
“I don’t have any qualms we can fill the building.”
He said they were still collating survey responses from this year and registrations for the 2026 event should open in October.
While he was happy with the great turnout from schools far and wide, Mr Crooks reiterated the expo was also for everyone else, considering different career prospects.
“It’s very hard to break the perception of being a school event because 2000 of our students are there, but we want it open for the general public to come have a look too – come and talk to an employer, come and grab a university course."