High school students across St.John the Baptist Parish looking for high-demand jobs or college admissions were exposed to skills and opportunities at the St.John the Baptist Parish Career and Job fair to fill the skills gap in their resume and escape barriers to employment.

The event took place at Skye The Event Space on Thursday, Oct.10, in Laplace, with over 60 vendors at the job fair to network aspiring students and workers available which was organized by Kiwanis Club of Tri Parishes, Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans and St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools.

St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools Superintendent, Cleo Perry, who commended the organizers of the conference, says he expects to see an increase in the participation of high school juniors and seniors in subsequent years at the fair.

“I believe this job fair is a pipeline to the workforce and industry, so I want these kids to make connections today, to be able to, you know, make connections with colleges and the workforce, so that way they’ll be productive citizens of the community,” Perry said.

The national unemployment rate in the 16-to-24 age range was nearly 10 percent this summer, compared with 4.4 percent among all ages, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Now in its third year, the event was like a typical career fair, attendees came armed with resumes to sell their job skills, recruiters were also trying to sell opportunities and training, while colleges offered to sell their programs to prospective students.

“I am here to listen to the recruiters so I can make informed choices about my future either to go to college or do something else,” Tylik Albert, a senior at Riverside Academy said.

Some of the booths at the career fair were offering technical jobs that operated on commission, alongside salaries and benefits.Those who receive a job offer will be vetted by each employer’s human resources department.

Human Resources Specialist at Associated terminals, Stephanie Vicknair, says the aim of her company at the fair is to identify and spot students who are self-driven who want to learn the ropes and grow.

“We just look for people that are self-motivated, self-starters who want to learn and grow, reliable, that show up for work, that kind of thing, experience doesn’t count if they are willing to grow through the ranks,” she said.

Kiwanis Club President, co-founder of the initiative, Dayna James also said the job fair highlights the availability of entry-level positions for the students and the need to utilize it.

“The whole movement started two years ago, when we got together with Junior Achievement to bring the College and Career Fair to St John’s the Baptist Parish so young people in high schools can have a chance to succeed by presenting them with job opportunities so they can see it,” 

Dayna said the success of the job fair in recent years stems from their vision of connecting high school students with recruiters from different colleges and businesses.“This is the whole  vision and hopefully, we have done our part to impact the kids to help their decision.”