More than 3,000 local students, mostly in Year 10 but also Years 11 and 12, checked out this year’s successful Macarthur Careers Expo yesterday.
And the people who put on the giant show of career exploration, transition from school and industry showcase, MWLP, couldn’t be happier.
Chief executive officer of MWLP, Mr David Williams, pointed to his team when asked for the secret of the expo success.
“We have a wonderful team here, who worked very hard to ensure the expo was a great success,’’ Mr Williams told the Voice in Macarthur.
With the guidance of Macarthur Career Advisors and MWLP – Linking Youth, this year’s expo had a greater focus on hands-on and interactive participation from exhibitors to help better engage the students.
Careers coordinator Tiana Batista created a number of hot spots on the expo floor with live demonstrations and workshops to add even more excitement to the event.
Speaking to some of the exhibitors, from trades like electricians to the Australian Defence Forces and the child care industry, this year’s expo did a marvellous jobs of reaching young people who will be entering the workforce or tertiary institutions in the next few years.
And it seems that gender still plays a role in what careers young people choose, with most boys showing a lack of interest in child care, for example, and still too few girls keen on trades likes electricians and plumbers.
Exhibitors this year were encouraged to think outside the square when setting up their displays to give this year’s expo a different look and feel from previous years and they certainly succeeded in that.
All the stands were colourful and attractive and basically shouted: come to me.
The 2016 participants included the NRL, AFL Sports Ready, National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), Colleges specialising in hospitality, childcare, legal studies, aged care, fashion/beauty, media studies, tourism and management, Gap Year Options, Defence Force, Apprenticeship Centres, all major Sydney universities, University of Wollongong, Western Sydney University, University of Canberra, Bond University, local businesses and many more.
