Othello Career Showcase highlights local jobs

OTHELLO — Close to 40 employers, as well as military, post-secondary and career-training schools were present for the third annual Othello Career Showcase at Othello High School on Thursday, Oct. 17. The Othello Career Showcase allows students to see what options are available to them after high school.

The idea for the Othello Career Showcase came about four years ago when the largest employers in Othello told the Adams County Development Council that there needed to be better communication between employers, the educational system and local government. A group, known as the Othello Industry Council, was formed, consisting of city and county representatives, Othello School District, Big Bend Community College and local employers.

“The top priorities identified in those discussions included improving recruitment of future workforce and developing a method to introduce Othello students to the high quality jobs available in their community,” said Stephen McFadden, Adams County Economic Development Director. “After considering the feedback, we proposed the creation of a Career Showcase where employers were able to introduce their specific career fields to students.”

Amy Parris, director of School to Career for the Othello School District, uses the showcase as an opportunity to help students learn about the different job choices available to them.

“We do preliminary career interest inventories and research so that our students go into the Showcase knowing their possible pathway,” Parris said.

During the event, each student from eighth to 12th grade is given a passport with the different employers on them. When students engage well with the various employers, they are given a sticker. Parris uses this information to create additional learning opportunities.

“I keep track of the most popular careers, and bring them in for further student engagement throughout the year,” Parris said. “We started an ‘Intro to Criminal Justice’ course last school year based on the high interest of our students in law enforcement careers. I had about 100 students do site visits at CBHA last year (which leads to internships and jobs) and several students were hired for summer jobs based on relationships that began at the Showcase.”

During their senior year, students are required to do a four-hour job shadow.

“They explore the daily duties, the education it takes to get there, the salary/benefits, possibilities for advancement, lifestyle it affords and advice by their site visit hosts,” Parris said.

Once site visits are completed, students use what they learned to create a plan for what they will do after high school.

The goal of the showcase and senior activities is to show students that there are job opportunities locally that they can take advantage of right out of high school or after getting college training.

“If students want to remain, or return to Othello after completing their education, this event gives them a great idea of what careers and opportunities exist for them in their hometown,” McFadden said.

Over the past three years, the community has supported and gotten involved in the showcase.

“Every year, we survey the employers and exhibitors,” McFadden said. “They regularly give us great reviews and provide positive feedback that helps guide the way that we plan the next year’s event. On the business side, we receive regular feedback that they appreciate the opportunity to talk to students, they are surprised by the volume and quality of questions they receive, and they believe the long term results will be positive. This is a long term effort to build a future workforce. The eighth graders who attended the first event in 2017 are sophomores this year.”

“This Othello community continues to amaze me,” Parris said. “After the Showcase, these employers get contacted by our K-12 staff to be guest speakers, panel experts for unit culmination, PBL (Project Based Learning) experts, etc. They invest in our students in many ways, and the bridge we have built for this work will only enhance this amazing community in the future!”

Sponsors for this year’s showcase included SkillSource, Big Bend Community College, Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, SVZ-USA, Columbia Bank, Othello Rotary Club, Avista, and Othello Chamber of Commerce. The lead agencies responsible for putting the showcase on were Adams County Development Council, Adams County and Othello School District.

“We are thrilled that so many companies and entities continue to participate in the Othello Career Showcase,” McFadden said. “Our partnership with the Othello School District has created an opportunity to build a bridge that allows students and employers to meet in the middle. It’s there, where they can all talk about future opportunities. That’s a win-win.”

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at rpinkerton@suntribunenews.com.