Rotary Career Symposium

www.careersymposium.ca @CareerSymposium Rotary Career Symposium www.careersymposium.ca @CareerSymposium Rotary Career Symposium www.careersymposium.ca @CareerSymposium Rotary Career Symposium 10 | Speaker Sessions 10:30 am - 11:00am 11:30 am - 12:00pm 12:30 pm - 1:00pm CAREER ROOM ATTEND CAREER ROOM ATTEND CAREER ROOM ATTEND 2E 2F 2G Pan Am Presentation Theatre 2E 2F 2G Pan Am Presentation Theatre 2E 2F 2G Pan Am Presentation Theatre Accounting Fauna Kingdon Life Coaching Jessica Dumas Architecture Lindsay Salter & Tyler Loewen Engineering Dario Shor Gaming Khaled Shariff Medicine Timo Gosselin Makeup Doug Morrow Skilled Trades Law Eric Blouw Robotics Jack Peterson Fashion Terri Radons Science Lisa Fernando Psychology Matthew Dector Culinary Arts Henry Traa Animation Liem Nguyen Manufacture YOUR FUTURE In a province where manufacturing is the largest industry and employer, students who are starting to think about a career and associated educational requirements might be wise to take a serious look at the manufacturing sector. Those attending the Rotary Career Symposium at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg on April 21 and 22 will have an opportunity to do just that when they visit Career Discovery, and participate in a hands-on experience of what their future could hold. For the second year, the Rotary Club in partnership with Canadian Manufacturing and Exporters (CME) is offering Career Discovery at its annual career symposium. Career Discovery showcases the variety of workplace technologies and high-demand careers available in manufacturing, and the skill set required for each, says Geri Rempel, project and event lead for CME, who is also a program committee member for the Rotary Career Symposium. To facilitate this experience, a large booth is set up on the main show floor of the symposium at the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg, featuring stations where students can experience different aspects of the manufacturing process, from start to finish. "Students participate in hands-on interactive experiences that simulate the manufacturing cycle, from design through build to final assembly of a working hovercraft," Rempel explains. "They have five minutes at each work station, where they learn about a variety of different manufacturing aspects such as drafting, welding, robotics and assembly, which in this case is a miniature hovercraft," she says. "They participate in experiential learning that in return makes manufacturing attractive to students." Why the hovercraft? CME offers a provincial high school level scholarship and bursary program for grades 9 to 12 students called the Discovery Program, which an extensive project where students create a concept and in-depth business plan along with designing and building a remote-controlled hovercraft. So this prototype is ideal for Rotary's Career Discovery, Rempel says. "Career Discovery allows students to experience cutting edge technologies, while having the opportunity to test drive a potential career," she adds. By Donna Minkus For the Free Press ONE-ON-ONE WITh ExPERTS In addition to experiencing how products are made, students can get a feel for the different career paths in the manufacturing industry. "Students get an up-close look at some of the careers they may be interested in. They have an opportunity to speak with industry experts and post-secondary instructors about the education and training required to be successful in the industry. It's looking at the end result, and then asking questions about what they need to do to achieve that result." Career Discovery is like a wide-angle lens into manufacturing, capturing the evolution of an industry, Rempel suggests. "Manufacturing is no longer your grandfather's industry. It demands skilled and innovative workers from the administrators to the shippers and receivers — all of which are needed to make a successful product from design and development through to production and shipping." It's a good idea for parents to attend Career Discovery as well, she adds, so they become aware of the wide variety of careers that are available in manufacturing industry. ENGINEERING INNOVATION ChALLENGE The Engineering Innovation Challenge provides another opportunity for students to experience careers directly, especially those who want to work in a technological environment, Rempel points out. An annual event at the Rotary Career Symposium, the Engineering Innovation challenges shows students that a career in engineering isn't all about math and technical details — it can be creative and fun. Students work together to solve a problem by working as a team using engineering concepts to create a house of cards that will hold a weight load within a certain period of time. The created projects are tested and a winner is declared. The Engineering Innovation Challenge is held both days and interested students can sign up at the event, Rempel explains. The goal of the activities such as Career Discovery and Engineering Innovation Challenge is to keep students engaged, and to help them transition from high school to post-secondary education as unintimidated as possible, Rempel concludes. "Whether they choose on-the-job or skilled-trades training, college or a university education, we want to give them an exciting experience that makes the transition as smooth as possible."

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