For the second year, the Worlds of Work event immersed more than 3,000 high school students in an interactive career expo designed to introduce them to careers readily available in their backyard.
The layout was split into 10 “Worlds of Work” that included public safety, technology, healthcare, hospitality and tourism, professional services, construction and engineering and environmental services.
Since last year’s debut, the event grew from 100 to 130 employers representing the private, public and nonprofit sectors this year. It’s also provided an opportunity for more dialogue at the educational side as teachers talk to students about careers and as schools, such as Tallahassee State College, talk to employers about their workforce needs.
“It’s such a good interaction between the employers and now the instructors at the higher (education),” said Corrie Melton, vice president of membership and talent development for the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. “They’re talking to the teachers, who are here with the students. So it’s really a lot of interaction going on. I can see the sparks are flying.”
The two-day event was geared toward ninth-grade students from Leon, Gadsden, Wakulla, Jefferson, and Franklin counties, along with a “WOW Varsity” element for students 10th through 12th grade.
“The whole point of this particular event is career awareness,” said Melton, who added the event is about “helping students to see careers and other industries that they may never have even considered as a career option for them.”
Read the full article from Tamaryn Waters in the Tallahassee Democrat HERE.