The finance panel moderator, panelists, and Career ChoICE staff are all smiles as they prepare to engage with students during one of the last panels of the two-day career development series.
The 2021 Career ChoICE Youth Expo was held on September 29-30. Around 70 volunteers and over 60 businesses and organizations made this year’s virtual panel discussions possible.
The career cluster panels featured professionals working in each of the 17 career clusters as well as regional education and training providers. A moderator facilitated the discussions and students submitted questions during the live panel. Panelists shared details about their organizations, their education, what they love about their work and more. Each panel discussion closed with career advice from the panelists. The Career ChoICE panels had roughly 3,074 live views. The panel recordings have had over 550 views.
Additionally, just over 7,400 Career ChoICE booklets were delivered to the 41 participating schools. The booklet contains information on career assessments, general career pathways, essential skills, benefits, cost of living, employment in the region, and further details on each of the 17 career clusters.
The goal of the Career Choice Youth Expo is to showcase existing job opportunities so that students will become aware of jobs available in the region. The expo also connects students to employers to build a talent pipeline in strategic sectors that are aligned with regional economic development interests.
“Career ChoICE provides students a unique opportunity to engage with a myriad of regional industries,” said IALR’s Jessie Vernon. “We’ve been thrilled to pivot the event online; however, we hope to resume in person in 2022.”
