Rotary Career Symposium

www.careersymposium.ca www.careersymposium.ca www.careersymposium.ca | 05 Submitted photo For more information on apprenticeship in Manitoba visit our website at: manitoba.ca/tradecareers or call 1-877-97-TRADE Becoming an Apprentice is the first step to a career in skilled trades that can put you in demand. You'll even get paid while you learn on the job. And in some cases, your tuition costs may even be covered. Find out how a skilled trade can create unlimited opportunities for you. TURN YOUR INTERESTS INTO A CAREER IT'S SOMETHING WE ALL ATTENDED DURING HIGH SCHOOL: A CAREER SYMPOSIUM. AT THE TIME, GOING TO SUCH AN EVENT WAS A BIT OF A LARK. AFTER ALL, AT THE AGE OF 16 OR 17, WHAT REALLY MATTERED WAS THAT YOU GOT A DAY OFF SCHOOL TO ATTEND. Would you scan the job postings for a summer job? Sure. But would you be thinking about a career? Not likely. To be honest, that concept was so far if the future that it wasn't even remotely on your radar. Well, times have changed. Summer jobs aren't as plentiful as they were 20, even 10 years ago. And because competition for plum careers is now conducted on three fronts – locally, nationally and globally – it's necessary for high school (even junior high) students to start getting a handle on what skills will be required to land their dream job. With that scenario in mind, Adriano Magnifico — a career development consultant with Louis Riel School Division — will be presenting a two-dimensional job board to students at the Rotary Career Symposium, May 2 to 4 at the RBC Convention Centre. "This will be the first year for the job board at the Rotary Career Symposium," he said. "I've experimented with the format for smaller events with the Louis Riel School Division, but never an event this size. Rotary thought it would be an effective piece to add to the event, so we're going to give it a try." The job board is a great complementary program to the Rotary Career Symposium Career Café, sponsored by Success Skills Centre, which provides students the opportunities to have their resumé critiqued and to learn about interview skills from professional career counsellors on site. Magnifico said the job board at the symposium will have not one but two sides. "The first part of the board will be Jobs for Now; the second part of it will be Jobs for the Future. The board will represent an opportunity for kids to look for a job that's immediately practical to them on one side. One the other, they'll be able to see the educational skills they'll need to get into a certain field, whether they be analytical, project management or teamwork. The idea is to get them to think beyond just getting a summer job." In other words, students will be challenged to get serious not only about summer work, but their working future. Fittingly, there will be volunteers on hand to help them get tuned into what it will take to land a summer job and then work toward a career that will mesh with their own unique skill set. "We'll have about 30 to 40 student volunteers as coaches right on site. They'll talk with the kids, work with them on their resumés and challenge them," said Magnifico. "They'll help them see what (kind of job) they can get now, but also get them to look inward and do some soul searching so they can get an understanding of what they're good at so they can begin to get an idea of where they might fit in the workforce." The not-so-implicit message? "That they have to start thinking about career management now," he said. "It's never too early to think about pathways to careers, and how to develop the required skills to get into a certain career. We want to help connect a kid to his or her skill potential. We'll ask some hard questions that will be designed to get kids to ask questions, such as, 'what's my aptitude?' Those questions aren't always asked in high schools." It's absolutely essential to get students aware of the need to start building a career-specific skill set while in high school, added Magnifico. "Our goal is really to get the kids thinking. The world has changed, become so fast-paced. There's not as much time for kids to think because things — such as the requirements for jobs — are changing so fast. The nature of work is changing exponentially, and kids are feeling the pressure. We have to raise the bar so we can prepare them properly for all the challenges they'll be facing." What is overriding objective of presenting the job board to students? "To give them a greater sense of purpose, to make them aware of the courses they'll need to take to get into the stream that will lead them into a certain career. Coaches will be asking them about where they want to go, what they want to do." Students will get a taste of real life, too. "There will be businesses on hand taking applications and doing interviews, and there will be a career centre close to the job board," he said. "Our hope is that the job board will be an interactive, relevant tool that will really get kids thinking about not only their present, but their future." Double-take on work future By Todd Lewys For the Free Press "We'll have about 30 to 40 student volunteers as coaches right on site. They'll talk with the kids, work with them on their resumés and challenge them."

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