by Kelly Rogge
Kansas City, Kan., area teenagers had the chance Tuesday to find out what kinds of job opportunities are available to them this summer through a Kansas City Kansas Community College Opportunity Fair.
“We know that some teens will look for employment and this gives them the head start with the employers that attended,” said Marisa Gray, business development liaison for KCKCC’s Workforce Development. “It was reinforcement of our efforts when McDonalds ran out of their 100 applications in the first 30 minutes. Outside of work opportunities, our goal was to let students know that there are also other opportunities like gaining volunteer experience or perhaps attending a summer camp.”
Approximately 225 students from USD 500 and Kauffman Scholars Inc. attended the fair, which was held at KCKCC-TEC. The event was a joint partnership with Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools, Workforce Partnership and KCKCC. Among the vendors:
- Aerotek
- City of Kansas City, Mo. – Aim4Peace Program
- Coca-Cola
- Flint Hills Job Corps
- Habitat for Humanity Kansas City
- Kansas City, Kan., Fire Recruitment
- Kansas City, Kan., Police Recruitment
- Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- The Savage Group, LLC (McDonalds)
- TJ Maxx
- University of Missouri-Kansas City
- UPS
Gray said students who attended were required to bring at least 10 copies of their resume. She said to watch the students move around the room, dressed professionally with resume in hand, was a “proud moment.”
“It validated the reason for teaching workplace skills and expectations into the daily curriculum,” she said. “There were several students that walked away with their first summer job. That was the ultimate measure of success for this event.”
For more information on KCKCC’s Workforce Development, contact Gray at 913-288-7284 or email [email protected].