By paNOW

Career fair draws info-seekers to Exhibition grounds

Oct 30, 2013 | 11:11 AM

The Opening Doors to Tomorrow career fair drew what organizers said could be the annual event’s highest attendance on record on Wednesday.

The event, geared towards local students in Grades 8 to 12, was held at the Prince Albert Exhibition. It featured 63 exhibitors, including potential employers, educational institutions and community programs.

Donnie Desjarlais, of the Prince Albert Grand Council Active Measures program and chairman of the Opening Doors to Tomorrow committee, said the turnout to this year’s fair was very good.

“I believe it’s our highest number yet,” he said.

The committee has been thinking ahead to future years, as well. “What we’re looking at down the road is looking at getting separate rooms for in-classroom presentations for specific businesses, but at this point, it’s still in the talks.”

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Desjarlais said the displayers are consistent – some come every year, others, every second year. They come from as far away as Alberta and Manitoba. They include universities, public works, construction, education and retail sectors.

The exhibitors include one of the largest-companies based in the province, PotashCorp.

Leanne Bellegarde, director of Aboriginal Strategy at PotashCorp said that the students that have approached her have asked thoughtful, informed questions about careers.

She described the market as competitive for any employer in Saskatchewan right now. “But as one of the top employers in Saskatchewan and in Canada, we think we’re a good bet for prospects looking for jobs at our company now and into the future.”

More than 2,000 students that attended the career fair, and one of them was Grade 10 student Nick Basaraba. He was there with friends to look into universities. He said he’s also interested in the possibility of becoming a teacher or a firefighter.

He said he started looking into careers now “just to get the feel, [of] like, what I want to do in my life, in the future.”

The event ran all day, in two buildings on the Prince Albert Exhibition grounds, and members of the general public were welcome to attend.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames