Employee recruiters hope for 'signature' event
January job, career fair marketed to students, parents
COLUMBIA BASIN - The group dedicated to recruiting employees for increasing and existing businesses wants students, who are not considering college, to know about their opportunities available.
About 20 members of the group, the operations task force, met Friday morning at Big Bend Community College's ATEC Building to discuss plans for a job and career fair focused toward area high school students and their parents.
Event coordinator and marketing subcommittee chair Dave Cooper said the event is not designed to discourage people from getting four-year college degrees.
"It's to encourage people who don't plan on going to college," he said during the meeting. "Speaking from the business community, that's where we're really hurting right now, on all different levels, but especially at that level. If we can get these kids to graduate from high school and have a carrot at the end of it and show them what kind of jobs they can have with very little education, I think that will make this worthwhile."
If all goes well, the event would become an annual thing. The group plans to approach all high school area schools.
Members of the group discussed approaching school teachers, counselors and coaches to discuss what is available for students, and talking with students themselves.
Businesses and industries from throughout the Columbia Basin are invited to share profiles including salary ranges and helpful high school courses for the job and career fair.
"Businesses can contact (the students) and get a relationship with them before they go off to college and come back," Cooper said. "By no means do we want to diminish that. We just want to educate students and make sure they can work in (the area) if they so choose."
Cooper is open to more involvement in the event from other companies. He felt preparations were progressing very well.
"We have a lot of talent, a cross-functional team that's coming up with great ideas," he said. "It's something where we really want to reach the students and parents."
Cooper is hoping to find 30 to 40 businesses to participate.
"This is something we've been wanting to do for a long time," he said. "We want it to be a signature event, it's a cooperative effort on everyone's part to make it a big event by increasing awareness in the community and providing a path for members of our community to benefit through many job opportunities."
The marketing subcommittee originally considered taking career fairs on the road to recruit employees, but everyone in the Northwest is having similar difficulties. Further beyond the Northwest, people wish to remain near their families, even without jobs.
"So what we came up with is really looking within our community and providing a clear path to future opportunities," he said.
The group is still working on a video including area employers relating to high school students the characteristics they are seeking from employees.
Community college Dean of Professional Technical Education Programs Clyde Rasmussen provided an update on a booklet he is creating about the transition from high school to the workplace. Rasmussen hopes to have the booklet completed by the end of March, when the community college has a job fair on campus.
As the group gets under way, Rasmussen added, he is looking for parent-volunteers to help write and read the booklet.
"We want this to be readable to students and readable to parents, not contain a lot of education language and things people don't understand," Rasmussen said.
For more information about the job and career fair, contact Cooper at 509-766-3246 or e-mail dcooper@baf.com.