Job Fest at Keene State Links Area Businesses and Job-Seeking Students
KEENE, N.H. 5/18/06 - More than 50 local high school students came to Keene State College on Wednesday, May 17, to learn about the job search process and to meet with representatives from 21 area businesses.
The event was funded by the Monadnock Center for Successful Transitions (MCST), with assistance from the Fall Mountain Healthy Youth Initiative, the Monadnock Development Services Family Council, and Keene State College.
According to MCST project coordinator Sheila Mahon, Job Fest was created after a speaker at the N.H. State Youth Vision Forum issued a challenge in October 2005. “He said employers wanted youth to show up, speak up, dress up, and respect work,” she said. “His words resonated with those of us, and we decided to take his words and create a day that would teach students those skills and give them the opportunity to find employment.”
Guidance counselors and school-to-work personnel at Keene High School, Monadnock Regional High School, Fall Mountain High School, and Hinsdale High School helped to identify interested and motivated students, and met with them to prepare for workshops on how to find a job, how to fill out applications, and what to expect in an interview. The students attended three morning workshop sessions and then attended a job fair in Keene State College’s Student Center, where local employers set up booths describing their businesses and available jobs.
“This was a great first attempt to blend the needs of high school students who are not going on to post-secondary education or the military with the needs of our area employers who need available and committed entry-level employees right now,” says
Susan Newcomer, workforce development coordinator at the Keene Chamber of Commerce. “Hopefully, future Job Fests will gather enough momentum and prestige so that all of our employers will want to participate! And they will find qualified applicants who are interested in working.”
MCST hopes to make the Keene Job Fest an annual event and is exploring organizing additional events in neighboring communities. For more information call Shelia Mahon at 603-352-1304.
