From ‘construction to cyber security’ – Henrico students explore different industries at the Life Ready Expo

Families and students packed the hallways of Hermitage High School to meet with employers from 150 different companies at Henrico School’s Life Ready Career Expo on Sept. 19.

HCPS’ Department of Workforce and Career Development hosted its annual career fair to help sixth- through 12th-grade students, as well as adults and younger students, explore job opportunities and learn more about different industries.

The career expo featured businesses from six different career clusters:

• business management;
• arts and communication;
• health science;
• human services;
• industrial and engineering technologies;
• and natural resources and agriculture.

The majority of companies represented technical industries, but other industries such as nursing, education, law enforcement, customer service and media were also represented.

“There’s businesses from construction to cyber security – it’s all across the board,” said Michael Fennessey, an administrator at Virginia Randolph’s Advanced Career Education Center.

While all 1,500 ACE Center students were encouraged to attend, the expo was geared toward all students and many non-ACE Center students showed up interested in a number of different industries, Fennessey said.

For many employers, the goal was to spotlight parts of their industries that are often overlooked. Dwight VanRossum, the Human Resources Specialist for HCPS, wanted his booth to highlight the many jobs in HCPS that aren’t teaching positions, such as bus drivers, custodial staff, school security officers, and school nurses.

“Part of what we hope to do today is to tell the students that there is more to do in the school division beyond just being a teacher,” he said. “In fact, one of the questions we ask students is, ‘Of the 7,000 employees that Henrico County Public Schools has, how many do you think are non-teachers?’ And the answer is 2,800.”

Shirley Contracting Business Development Manager Mary Starr wanted to expose more students to the civil construction industry, which provides infrastructure for roads, water and sewage, bridges, and other community services.

“You don’t have a lot of representation for the civil side of the construction industry, so we’re hoping just to bring more awareness,” she said. “We’re really just hoping to start striking up interest so in the next couple of years, people realize the options that they’re missing out on in the industry.”

Students focused on a particular industry or career cluster were able to branch out and explore other options at the expo. ACE Center student Seth, a high school senior and a nursing assistant, initially came to the expo to look for jobs in the medical industry, but also became interested in engineering jobs after visiting Dominion Energy’s booth.

High school student Hekmat, who is interested in military service, said he was glad to explore alternative pathways after high school at the expo.

“I learned more about how to get a start in the military industry, how they pay your college free and after you’re finished, they give you benefits like health insurance,” he said. “And it was good to meet every part of every industry.”

While much of the expo is targeted towards students, employers also spoke with interested adults. VanRossum brought in students from the HCPS Teacher Apprenticeship Program to speak to middle and high school students, while he spoke to adults with the hope of finding more substitute teachers.

“I’m here to talk to any adults who are like, ‘I’m thinking about being a substitute’ or ‘I thought about going back to school to be a teacher,” he said. “As a recruiter, I’m always recruiting, and so for me I want to get substitutes. There might even be a licensed teacher walking around that we don’t know of, so if we’re not here, we don’t get to tap into those markets.”

Mia Hennig, an apprentice with James River Exteriors, said she wants to reach younger students, particularly female students, to spark more interest in the trades.

“What I’m hoping to accomplish is just a new generation of tradesmen and masons because it is one of the oldest standing professions in the world,” she said. “What I’m trying to do is sort of reignite the flame of interest in the trades – especially for women.”

And while it can be a great learning opportunity for students, the best outcome from the expo is a potential job offer, Fennessey said.

“We want them to learn from it, but the biggest thing is in two years or one year, they’re getting a job,” he said. “Here’s an opportunity for you to get a job at 16 years old."

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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.