HUNTSVILLE — A Senior Sprint Career Fair in Huntsville highlighted the numerous opportunities for area graduating seniors who have not made firm post-graduation plans.
Hosted Tuesday by the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber at the First Baptist Church, the fair aimed to help put students on a path to a successful career, said Annie Davis, director of Talent Initiatives for the Chamber.
“These are graduating seniors in the Madison County area from our three school systems, Huntsville City, Madison City and Madison County,” said Davis. “And they are here to find jobs and training opportunities as soon as they walk across the stage.”
Davis said there are different paths for each student, and some of those may look different from one student to the next.
“We recognize that there are some students where a four-year college is going to be the best option for them and we want to encourage them to pursue that,” she said. “For others, it may be a two-year school and get some training along the way, a little bit of work-based learning, get an associate or a technical degree and hit the workforce.
“And then other students are already ready to go straight out of high school.”
More than 20 employers participated in the event – all willing to hire and train graduating high school seniors.
“We have manufacturing companies, healthcare companies, business and finance companies, companies and other types of customer service fields,” Davis said.
“There’s truly an opportunity for everybody here.”
Students were encouraged to dress for success and many employers were offering on the spot interviews. Local photographer Jeff White was also on-site to take free professional headshots.
Several companies offered training and financial assistance to graduating seniors.
“We have probably about 1,000 jobs posted, and most of them, you … apply right out of high school” said Lauren Johnson with the Huntsville Hospital Health System.
Johnson said potential candidates can apply for hospital programs that are free of cost “and you get paid while you’re in the program.”
“We have our own radiology school that’s an accredited associates program,” she said. “And then we have nurse apprentice programs, surgical technology programs. You can work as a scrub assistant in the OR and it’s a six-month program. We pay for you to sit in class for six months and you come out and guaranteed a job.
“We also have a pharmacy tech program that’s a 10-week program.”
For many students, it’s an opportunity to see what’s available.
Columbia High School’s Kamerin Kennamar said he’s planning on getting welding certification from Drake State Community & Technical College.
“I’m here today looking at companies that will hire welders in structural welding fields, construction or aerospace welding,” he said. “I didn’t know what companies to look at or where to look, but they make it an easy process and they give you everything you need to know to find out what company you would ever want to work for.
“It’s friendly, it’s a friendly environment. So I like that.”
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