Second Annual High School Job Fair to be held at SMAHS on April 22nd
 
The Community Education Center’s DISCOVER Partnership has teamed with the five local high schools throughout Elk and Cameron Counties to offer the Second Annual Elk and Cameron Counties High School Job Fair. The job fair will be held on Friday, April 22nd from 8am-11am at the St. Marys Area High School Gymnasium.  This event, held exclusively for local youth, will offer interested high school students from Cameron County, ECC, Johnsonburg, Ridgway and St. Marys Area high schools the opportunity to connect with local employers interested in hiring immediately or in the near future. Students will be looking for a range of employment opportunities including full and part time employment, summer work, and co-op work experiences for next school year. 
Companies in Elk and Cameron Counties with hiring needs are encourage to attend.  This is a great opportunity to fill the employment needs of companies with local, hard-working and dedicated youth. For more information or to register your company, please visit communityedcenter.com/discover-partnership. Registration deadline is Tuesday, April 19th. High school students interested in attending can sign up in their high school guidance offices. 
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Ridgway- Once again, in collaboration with the Community Education Center’s DISCOVER Partnership, the RAHS 10th Graders cruised around town to tour local companies and learn about career opportunities in the region. Students began the day at North Central and continued to St. Marys Pressed Metals, the Ridgway-Elk County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center, Ridgmont Personal Care Home of WRC Senior Services, Patalano’s Place, and 97.5 the Hound. Above, students are pictured playing an intense game of “noodle ball” with the residents of Ridgmont and using microscopes to view powdered metal parts. These activities were led by Ridgmont’s Activities Director, Doris Banks, and Jim Aiello of St. Marys Pressed Metals. These are just a few examples of the hands-on experiences that were enjoyed by students throughout the day.
 
This is just one way that RAHS and the CEC are working with local companies to inform students of the career opportunities in the area and supply them with information about the current job market. Monday, April 11th from 6:30pm-8:00pm in the high school auditorium will mark the first annual “Career Slam.” Middle and high school students and parents from the entire region are invited to attend. Educators will discuss the needs in today’s job market, share the truth about college success rates and student loan debt and explore school-to-work and affordable post-secondary education options. Representatives from local companies will be on hand to share information about apprenticeship programs, tuition reimbursement options, student loan forgiveness, on the job training, internships and much more.
 
Ray Kelly, an educator at RAHS and coordinator of the Career Slam, discusses the benefits of experiences like these for all types of students, regardless of their career interests. ““We are lending money we don’t have to kids who can’t pay it back to train them for jobs that don’t exist.” This quote from Mike Rowe, popular TV host and founder of mikeroweWorks, a foundation that promotes hard work and the skilled trades, sums up the need for our students to explore these topics. By working together with the CEC and local companies to offer experiences like these to students, we can help them to save time and money by making smarter career decisions. In the long run, our community and students will both benefit. We are pleased to invite all middle and high school students and their parents in the area to attend the event on the evening of April 11th. No reservation is necessary, and we even plan to give away a few door prizes.” Jackie Lundy, DISCOVER Partnership Program Manager agrees that this event is beneficial for families, “The time you invest in attending the Career Slam may potentially offer a better return in the future than your college education funds!”
 
To learn more about company tours for students or the Career Slam at RAHS, contact the Community Education Center at cec@communityedcenter.com or (814) 781-3437.