- The Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce hosts an event at the Fox Cities Expo Center to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world career prospects.
- Thousands of students participate in the Fox Cities Career Expo, gaining insights into various career paths.
- Students engage with over 85 local employers learning about job opportunities and essential soft skills.
The workforce is evolving at a rapid pace. Today's students require more than just online surveys or parental advice to navigate the career opportunities available.
This week at the Fox Cities Expo Center, the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce has orchestrated an event aimed at bridging the gap between classroom knowledge and real-life career prospects within the Fox Cities.
This week, thousands of students are immersing themselves in a professional crash course at the Fox Cities Career Expo. Quinn, an 8th-grade student from Winneconne Middle School, expressed excitement, saying, "There's jobs everywhere... this is really cool." Others, like sophomore, Hugh Sleeman from Winneconne High School, find the selection of career paths intriguing. "I'm not familiar with different companies... so being able to see the different career paths that I could take is very interesting to me," he says.
For students like Quinn (Quinn asked that we not share her last name), the Expo serves as a crucial opportunity to gain insights into potential career paths before entering high school.
As many as 3,000 students are engaging with local employers such asBergstrom Automotive, Pierce Manufacturing, and Gulfstream, learning about job opportunities and soft skills like body language and interviewing techniques.
Becky Bartoscek, President and CEO of Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce, emphasizes the importance of these interactions, stating, "There's 85 employers here today talking to these kids about the opportunity to exist right here in their backyard that they may not learn about any other way."
Rebecca Meck from Ascension Healthcare, one of the 85 local employers at the expo, highlights the importance of capturing students' interests early on, remarking, "For us to be able to capture a kid's interest a little bit younger and get them started on a path that might gauge their interest and really keep them in this field."
Students we spoke with say they found some clarity about their future career paths,
"Now I kind of have a better idea of what I wanted to do. But I'm still not for sure, but I think coming here helps a lot," adds Quinn.
Aside from career hunting, students can also explore summer job opportunities at the Expo, providing yet another avenue to test out potential career fields.
