By Brendan Rees
The 2018 Casey Careers and Try a Trade Expo saw thousands of high school students from the South-East region poured through the gates of the Cranbourne Racecourse on Tuesday 24 April.
The expo offered students, parents, guardians and teachers an opportunity to learn about different careers and study options available in the region.
Careers and trades on display included carpentry, plumbing, tiling, bricklaying, painting, hair and beauty, engineering and more.
Other career options including the Australian Defence Force, Victoria Police, and local universities were also present.
In addition to gaining a hands-on experience, students had the opportunity to talk to qualified people and career advisers about the different occupations and pathways available.
Narre Warren South P-12 College Year 10 student Christos said the expo was an eye-opening experience.
“I was looking at defence force and architecture,” he said.
Cranbourne East Secondary College student, Courtney, said she was keeping her options open but enjoyed learning about becoming a nurse in the Defence Force.
Narre Warren South P-12 College careers practitioner Ruth Brehaut said the Casey Careers Expo and Try a Trade was a great event for students to gain inspiration for their future careers.
“We’ve been attending this careers expo for a number of years now. We find it really useful for our students,” she said.
“You’ve got all the providers here, the kids get to try the Try a Trade, all the different brick laying, hairdressing; get to look at the police force, and the defence force.
“It’s really great for our Year 10 students because this helps them prepare for course counselling later on in the year.”
CEO of South East Local Learning and Employment Network (SELLEN) Andrew Simmons said the expo was in its 10th year and continued to grow.
“For the South-East, having something localised is so much more accessible for our local students,” he said.
The event was supported by the City of Casey, Cardinia Shire, SELLEN and the Cranbourne Racecourse.
