Rotary Career Symposium

02 | careersymposium.ca Supported by ROTARY 20TH CAREER SYMPOSIUM EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS MARCH 14–16, 2017 TUES 6PM–8PM • WED & THURS 9AM–3PM RBC CONVENTION CENTRE #RCS2017 #CAREERSYMPOSIUM BY TODD LEWYS The job market today's youth is looking at entering is far more complex than it was even five years ago. Characterized by an ever-increasing range of career choices and rapid change, the job market's complexity is making it difficult for junior high and high school students to immediately identify a clear career path. That's why the province of Manitoba has put together a team whose sole mission is to provide guidance, education and support to students as they begin to think seriously about what type of career they want to pursue. "Our team includes the Bureau en Français, Adult Learning and Literacy/Immigration Economic Opportunities, the Manitoba Student Aid Branch, Manitoba for Youth, Apprenticeship (Manitoba) and Industry, Training and Employment Services," said the province's career development consultant, Ruth Stargardter. "We will all be present as a team at the symposium." She said the team will be there to let students know the province will be behind them at every stage of their career quest. "We're coming together to achieve several things. First, we want kids to know that as they look at career choices, we will be with them every step of the way. Second, we want to help them see how career development is a natural circular progression — they could have 10 to 20 careers in their lifetime." Not only is the team going to educate students about the fact that they'll likely change careers quite regularly (unlike their parents, many of whom have held the same job for 20 or more years), but they will also prepare them for the work world they'll be facing once they find gainful employment. "We are going to do our best to try and prepare students for a highly modern workplace that's high-tech, filled with high- speed information and that's characterized by rapid social change and more global interaction," Stargardter said. "The reality is that transition and constant change is part of the animal that today's modern workplace is." Consequently, the province's team is going to do all it can to help students cope with such challenges — a process they hope to start when students pay a visit to their booth at the symposium. "We want to help kids be adaptable and flexible (in dealing with myriad workplace challenges)," she said. "Information-gathering skills are critical, so we want to show them how to properly gather and process information — and how to plan properly." Ultimately, preparation is the key that will help unlock the door to long-term career success — and satisfaction, added Stargardter. "The better prepared students are, the better they'll cope. Overall, we (the province) want to provide an optimum learning environment so that students can find the career that's right for them." While guidance and environment are important, so too is support. "I can't emphasize enough that our team is going to be here to help students all along the way in their career search," she said. "We want to inspire them to dream — that there's hope for all youth to find a satisfying, good- paying career, that there are opportunities and that there will continue to be (good career) opportunities." Why is the province going to showcase such a strong commitment to youth at the symposium? "We believe that our most valuable resource is people," answered Stargardter. "We want kids to know that there's a place for them, and that we really want to involve them in the province's future, because they are our future. That's why our mission is to let kids know what opportunities are out there, and to give them the support they need to find a career that will help them play a part in making Manitoba better as we move forward." Embrace change SPEAKER SESSIONS MARCH 15 & 16 - 10:30AM - 1:30 PM - 2ND FLOOR • During the two-day Symposium, there are over 30 speaker sessions highlighting various careers. • Each session features a 20-minute presentation and a 10-minute Q&A. • Speaker Sessions provide firsthand accounts of "a day in the life" of selected careers. They describe a typical day – its challeges, opportunities and how the speaker found the industry. • Choose one of the presentations per time slot, no pre-registration is required 10:30am Speaker Profession Room Number Jenna Shimoji Physiotherapy-Physiotherapist Millennium Suite Chris Johnson (Permission Click.com) Entrepreneur Pan Am Room Corey King (co-founder & chief executive artist of ZenFri Inc.) Gaming 2E Drew Kozub (morning show host, KISS 102.3) Broadcasting 2F Dr. Chandra Gorchan & Dr. Vy Le (doctors of optometry) Optometry 2G Dr. Alexander Sawatsky Social Work Presentation Theatre 11:30am Speaker Profession Room Number Julie-Anne McCallum (senior director of marketing at Vita Health) Marketing Millennium Suite Dr. Alessandra Cassano-Bailey (March 15) (assistant professor, Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba; interventional radiologist, Radiology Consultants of Winnipeg) Physician Pan Am Room Fauna Kingdon (accountant) Accounting 2E Karen Fiske (animal health technologist, Roblin Animal Hospital) Animal Health Technologist 2F Dr. Michael Drebot (associate professor, Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba; director, Zoonotic Diseases and Special Pathogens, National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada) Studying Exotic Diseases 2G Theatre Naomi Clarke (television producer) Television Producer Presentation Theatre 12:30am Speaker Profession Room Number Liem Nguyen (3D artist, Pixel Reborn Inc.) Animation Millennium Suite KC McCormick & Bobbi MacLennan (architectural interns, Ager Little Architects) Architecture Pan Am Room Cameron Krisko (March 15) (physician assistant) Scott Naherniak (March 16) (physician assistant, WRHA Family Medicine) Physician Assistant 2E Anne Fluer Aguirre (technical records clerk, Perimeter Airlines) Pilot 2F Khaled Shariff, (founder & CEO of Project Whitecard Inc.) Careers in Virtual Reality 2G Adrian Cheater (The Campfire Union) Virtual Reality Presentation Theatre

• Cover