Third annual Discover Opportunities hosted at Massey-vanier High School
On February 25th of this year, the third annual Discover Opportunities in the Eastern Townships Career and Skills Day was hosted at Massey-vanier high school. The career and skills days are designed to expose secondary 4 and 5 students to the vast career and educational opportunities available to them right here in the Eastern Townships.
It is no secret that there are a number of bilingual youth who decide to leave the region to pursue their desired career path. Whether their decision is based on a perception of a limited job market in the region, lack of educational institutions, or feeling they come from a sleepy rural region with little to offer their growing curiosities, DO-ET Career and Skills Days highlight the contrary.
Secondary 4 and 5 students spend the first half of their school day attending career panels and skills-building workshops led by local professionals who have been successful in life and in their career in the region, many of whom are alumni of Massey-vanier, or of one of the other two English-language high schools in the region. Students also tour a networking zone composed of local community resources that provide services supporting education and employability, educational institutions from the region that offer a wide variety of post-secondary programs, and employers from the region that offer career and summer employment opportunities and are eager to employ the next generation of young bilingual professionals.
Each
participating
student
is provided with a personalized schedule that is generated based on their responses to a survey that they are asked to complete prior to the event. The goal of this approach is to ensure that each student is attending career panels and skills-building workshops on topics relevant to their desired career path or a career path that they are considering. For those students who are undecided, there are also workshops on offer that address topics such as Paying for school and Career Exploration.
This year, students attended panels and workshops ranging from Architecture, Engineering and Technology to Alternatives to University; from Careers in Health to Entrepreneurship. In total, there were 8 panels and workshops offered by 20 local professionals who volunteered their time to inform and encourage the next generation of young professionals.
Each year, the career and skills day opens with an assembly to inspire students and orient them on the purpose and overview of the event. The opening assembly features a keynote speaker who shares his or her life journey with the students. The keynote speaker’s presentation typically includes their education background, career path and experience, life lessons learned along the way and, of course, why they made the decision to make the Eastern Townships their home. The power of an inspiring personal testimonial demonstrates its value time and time again; and each year the volunteer keynote speaker at each Discover Opportunities in the Eastern Townships Career and Skills Day sets a motivating and energetic tone, which carries through the rest of the event.
We are incredibly grateful to all the local professionals who volunteered their time to present at this event. Hosted at three English-language high schools in the region each year, the DO-ET Career and Skills Day offers information, opportunity, direction, and inspiration to our students. They say that it takes a community to raise a child and our community proves the value of that statement at every opportunity.
Townshippers’ is always looking for new panelists and exhibitors to participate in these events, which are an important contribution to the lives of the region’s English-speaking youth. Please feel free to e-mail us at ta@townshippers.org or call our Lennoxville or Knowlton offices at the numbers listed below if you or someone you know would be interested in participating in 2020-2021!
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3-584 Knowlton Rd., Lac-brome 3355 College St., Sherbrooke
By phone 450-242-4421 819-566-5717