Third Form Students from across the Turks and Caicos Islands gave the Third Annual Louise Garland Thomas High School Career Fair a huge stamp of approval, telling reporters that the event, for the most part, has helped them to decide a career path.
For the first time in its three-year staging the event was held on the school grounds, having laid a synthetic turf along a wide section of the compound.
The students, who came from the Marjorie Basden Nigh School in South Caicos, the Raymond Gardiner High in North Caicos and Maranatha Academy in Providenciales said they were thrilled with the number of career opportunities presented to them at the Long Bay, Providenciales school.
The event was represented by both the private and public sector, and inclusive of a myriad of hospitality professions, the different elements of the construction field, the various medical professions, mechanic, welding, law enforcement – inclusive of the police and the attorney general chambers, and the TCI Regiment.
The event also had a guest speaker in Jody-Ann Pratt – the Human Resource Manager for the Ritz Carlton Turks and Caicos, reminded the students that the decisions they make now can affect them in the next 20 years, imploring make wise and informed decisions about their social and profession lives.
Kevin Paul of Marjorie Basden High School, whose desire is to become an architect, said the event was that great he believed it should be replicated across the country.
“I think that there should be more events like this throughout the Islands of ,Turks and Caicos,” he said. “I like what they did for us. I like how they bring us from around Turks to attend this activity.”
For Ricardinha Lewin of the host school, the career fair was a properly orchestration one, which provided a plethora of professions from which the student had a wide choice.
“I think the event was well constructed and it was a great idea to have this, because now students from different schools can learn to pick what they want and decide which career they want to take,” he said.
“You have the different professions talking what they were all about, and I think that is really good. And so, it gives the students an understanding of what they want, and some students who don’t know what they want, they would get their questions answered, because the professionals have some very interesting things to say about their field. I am a sports person, but I like the mental health booth…I really like that. Mental health is now a possible career for me,” Lewin added.
For her part, Porcshe Borromeo of Raymond Gardiner High School believes the fair was a definite help for her.
“It will help me to choose a career because it gives me an idea of how the career choice would be like. I think it is helpful to individuals who came here today,” she said.
Borromeo’s school made, Divine Dorssaint, share similar sentiments.
“They will help me to know what I want to do, and how to work from there,” she said.
Amy gangasingh of the Maranatha Academy believed the fair was important because it assisted students to make up their minds on what careers they want to settle into.
“Sometimes kids question what career they want to take, and seeing people that are in the different careers, telling them about their experiences, you would want to know more,” she argued. “Like me, I was not interested in the police force, but seeing how they talked about how the works are in forensic science, I am now interested.”
She added: “Not always we get the privilege to come and experience it, but I am privileged, all the kids here are privileged because they are in the position to see the different jobs here in the Turks and Caicos.”
Guidance Counsellor at the Louise Garland Thomas High School, Diane Paul, said this year’s event was more hands-on because not only did it include those who dress up for work, but also those who rolled up their sleeves to work. She said some of the presenters were attending the event for the first time.
“For example, we have the Survey and Mapping Department…we saw live demonstration with the drones. We are seeing for the first time the Department of Environmental and Coastal Resources, we are also seeing for the first time the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment, as well as different technical areas such as the mechanics and the welders,” Paul said.
She pointed out that the school purposed itself to invite what she termed non-conventional careers, to the event as well.
“We have organizations such as Fortis doing a lot of life demonstrations, not just discussions, but more hands-on activities,” she continued.
“She added: “Most of the students are third form students. And the reason why we choose to do it at this time its because they are choosing their subjects to go on to senior high school. So, this is the CVQ and CAPE period, so they are now trying to pick out what they want to be.
“A lot of them are unsure because they are moving towards the profession of the Youtuber, and the Influencer - more of that social media platform. So we are seeing a lot of changes in the careers that they would normally want, such as the doctors and the lawyers.
“We were supposed to have someone (YouTube Influencer) coming in, but because of the change in venue, they could not come all the way to this location.”
Paul said professionals would be visiting the Louise Garland Thomas High to give added career lectures before the students get to choose their career subjects.
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