For the second academic year in a row, representatives from the WorkBC Centre were at Pinetree Secondary in Coquitlam to offer free career advice to graduating high school students.
Today's hiring fair drew officials from BMO, RBC, Starbucks, YMCA, Coquitlam Public Library and the City of Coquitlam to talk to students about jobs during and after their Grade 12 year.
In turn, about 300 students quizzed the representatives about what positions were open, as well as the days, hours, wages and advancements that were available and what skills they needed.
Participating students used a chart to zero in on two companies for their Career Life Connections (CLC) program at Pinetree that’s being taught by Natalee Lovelock; their assignment forms part of their Capstone graduation requirements in B.C.
Lovelock told the Tri-City News this morning, Oct. 11, that the hiring fair gives students a chance to learn more about career options and to network with employers in the community.
At the pilot launch in February, which was also held at the Pinetree Community Centre, about a dozen students got jobs at Starbucks and Mary Brown’s, “which hired on the spot,” said Tony Sousa, a career advisor and job developer at the WorkBC Centre at Lincoln Avenue in Coquitlam.
For the fall round, the City of Coquitlam was recruiting youth for recreational positions while the YMCA, which has locations in Burquitlam and around the Lower Mainland, was hiring young people to be assistants for child care and membership, as well as for summer camps.
Shirin Sobhani, a career advisor and youth facilitator who runs the Youth Hub for the WorkBC Centre, said Pinetree students were prepared for this year’s hiring fair and were ready with resumes in hand.
Sousa said the WorkBC Centre plans to be at Pinetree and Centennial secondaries next year.
In the Tri-Cities, WorkBC case managers and job developers work out of three offices:
