In 2023, Painesville City Local Schools (PCLS), in partnership with EnvisionEdPlus, announced their first ever Youth Virtual Career Fair powered by Career Town Network (CTN). During the month of May 2023, all graduating high school seniors were welcome and encouraged to participate in this one of a kind virtual job search opportunity. Whether they were looking for full time permanent employment, a part time job during college, an internship or apprenticeship opportunity, participating in the Ohio Youth Virtual Career Fair offered young people a one-stop shop to engage with small, medium and large businesses across Ohio who were actively recruiting entry level employees. Heidi Fyffe, Painesville’s Director of State and Federal Programs shared “PCLS and Harvey High School are always striving to help our students in securing careers after graduation. CTN’s virtual career fair will help our students learn about their own skills, about new options, and about new skills that can help them get a new job. We are most excited about its virtual nature. It’s a great way for our students to hear and learn about a broader variety of experiences.”
CTN’s virtual career fair platform is designed to engage job seekers directly with the recruiting staff from companies in a very similar way to how a traditional (in-person) career fair would work except it’s well – virtual! CTN uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help the employers match candidates with positions that best match their skills and experiences. Job seekers will have an amazing experience using any device. They can get to know important information about potential employers through video and chat.
How can you get YOUR youth involved?
Step 1: Register your school or program via the EnvisionEdPlus Eventbrite page. There is NO COST to register or for any young person to participate.
As part of registration, you will identify your school or program Champion. The Champion is our primary contact person who will be leading your local initiative. Champions will be responsible to promote the EnvisionEdPlus Youth Virtual Career Fair to students and families. Champions will also assist students as they set up the CTN profiles, LinkedIn profiles and prepare resumes.
Please note, the registration is now open for the 2024 event. This event is only for the following counties: Lake, Geauga, Cuyahoga, Trumbull, Mahoning, Portage, Summit.
Step 2: For the 2024 event, Champions will receive resources and materials to support students as they create their resumes and build LinkedIn profiles.
Step 3: Students complete their profiles on the career fair platform. Then they can freely access the platform at their convenience during the entire month of May!
Senior Talent Executive, Jennifer Savage, recently shared “Employers should always champion the next generation because we know what we are looking for, how we like the format, the skills, and wording and phrases management wishes to see. Educators and Employers speak two different languages. It is up to us as professionals in our respective fields to come together and help young people navigate the transition so they have a better understanding and sense of their options. There is no single good tool to educate students on all the options for careers. So, the more businesses get involved, the smaller the gap becomes.” For these reasons, Ms. Savage is excited about this Career Fair for Northeastern Ohio’s graduating seniors and she volunteered her time to train School Champions on how best to help young people create powerful resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Registrants for the 2024 career fair will receive the session recording.
How can businesses in your community get involved?
- We highly recommend School Champions connect with businesses in their communities to make sure they know this opportunity is available. Career Town Network is offering a huge discount to businesses to participate. The fee is only $250 (regular rate is $950).
- Businesses should contact Jeannie Mok, Regional Relationship Manager, to learn more about the platform and how they can participate. (jmok@careertown.net)
Is this Virtual Career Fair a one shot deal?
- Painesville City Schools, EnvisionEdPlus and Career Town Network will be hosting this annual statewide virtual career fair during the month of May through 2027!
- Funding for this event comes from grant funds through the Ohio Department of Education’s Innovative Workforce Investment Program (IWIP – round 2).
Who do I contact if I have questions or need additional information?
Lisa Frasure, Innovation Specialist @ EnvisionEdPlus is project manager. Please contact her at lisajfrasure@gmail.com.
