Jobs galore
Career Fair brings employers, potential employees together
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Iowa Central Community College business student Nicolas Almeida, of Sau Paulo, Brazil, at left, stops to chat with Fred Green, community resource director at Bickford of Fort Dodge during the Iowa Central Career Services Career Fair Friday.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Iowa Central Community College photograph student Evan Price, of Rockford, Illinois, makes a portrait of accounting student Kaleb Booge, of Van Meter, at the Iowa Central Career Services Career Fair Friday. The students uploaded the portraits and made them available to the their subjects.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> The Buena Vista University mascot, as rendered in the motif of stress ball, awaits students to talk to with enrollment counselor Jeannie Dawson during the Iowa Central Community College Career Services Career Fair.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Iowa Central Community College business student Nicolas Almeida, of Sau Paulo, Brazil, at left, stops to chat with Fred Green, community resource director at Bickford of Fort Dodge during the Iowa Central Career Services Career Fair Friday.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> Iowa Central Community College photograph student Evan Price, of Rockford, Illinois, makes a portrait of accounting student Kaleb Booge, of Van Meter, at the Iowa Central Career Services Career Fair Friday. The students uploaded the portraits and made them available to the their subjects.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <br> The Buena Vista University mascot, as rendered in the motif of stress ball, awaits students to talk to with enrollment counselor Jeannie Dawson during the Iowa Central Community College Career Services Career Fair.
Trending
For Iowa Central Community College students looking for a place to work once they finish their degrees, the Career Education Building was the place to be Friday and the Career Services Career Fair the event to attend.
The annual event gives employers whose employment needs match up with programs offered at Iowa Central a chance to meet the students, recruit and maybe find their next worker.
Kaleb Booge, of Van Meter, is an accounting major.
He was surprised at how his career field would fit in with an employer he had not considered before, the Iowa Department of Transportation.
"The Iowa DOT was very interesting, I think of people moving snow," he said. "There's a lot more behind the scenes that has to do with accounting."
He also stopped to visit with the students from the Iowa Central Photography Program.
They had set up a set of lights, a reflector and a background and were busy making portraits of visitors to the fair. They would be able to upload their pictures later.
Evan Price, of Rockford, Illinois, was one of the student photographers.
"It gives people something valuable," he said. "This is something they can have 10 years from now."
There was a wide variety of business, industry and government agencies represented. They ranged across the spectrum from ethanol refineries and food production plants to care centers and even the Fort Dodge Police Department.
Nicolas Almeida, of Sau Paulo, Brazil, stopped to chat with Fred Green, community resource director of Bickford of Fort Dodge.
The business major said he would be staying to work in the U.S. once he graduates.
He was particularly impressed with the assisted living arrangements in places like Bickford.
"The elderly still have their freedom," he said.
The Career Fair is also a resource for Gwenda Naylor, a workforce advisor with the Workforce Development Center.
She cited one example of a care facility in need of certified nursing assistants that doesn't provide the certification. By being aware of that, she can enroll her clients in a program to get the certification which gives them a better chance of landing a job.
She also likes the growth and variety of the fair.
"I come here every year," she said. "It's nice to have new vendors."
Jessica Kavanaugh, Iowa Central Career Services coordinator, organizes the event.
She said 122 employers attended this year.
"We try to connect our students with the employers in the area," she said. "We also try to present employers that have positions that align with the students programs."