Students to showcase skills at Career Rodeo Challenge

Henrico County Public Schools will hold a Career Rodeo Skills Challenge March 16 at Richmond Raceway. The challenge, designed to connect students and employers, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the raceway's Exhibition Hall at 600 East Laburnum Ave.

The event will enable students to show what they’ve learned in the school division’s comprehensive career and technical education programs, to form connections and to lay the groundwork for employment. Students from HCPS’ Advanced Career Education centers will solve work-based challenges in front of potential employers, who can request resumes and even interview students on the spot.

As at a traditional rodeo, participants wear numbers on their backs to make it easier for spectators to identify them. At the first Career Rodeo Skills Challenge in 2020, 426 Henrico County Public Schools students demonstrated their skills for potential employers, who requested resumes and interviews from hundreds of students.

The Career Rodeo Skills Challenge is the second of a three-part annual HCPS series of events bringing together students and employers. At the fall Life-Ready Expo, employers staff booths where students and families can discuss career possibilities and potential earnings face-to-face. The third installment of the series is the Career and Technical Letter-of-Intent Signing Day, where students and employers will gather in May to celebrate their new partnerships at signing ceremonies resembling those held for high school athletes. The events are coordinated by HCPS’ Department of Workforce and Career Development.

Employers wishing to attend should register by contacting Beverly Cocke, HCPS workforce and career development specialist, at blcocke@henrico.k12.va.us.