Council moves to link local youth with job gaps
The inaugural Careers and Employment Expo held in the Balaklava Town Hall on March 30 will help bridge the gap between large employers in the area and local youth.
Wakefield Regional Council coordinated the event after elected members and senior staff visited several large employers late last year.
“It was a common theme at most sites there were both seasonal and full time vacancies but businesses were struggling to recruit to those jobs,” WRC Mayor, Rodney Reid said.
“Bringing new employees to the area was further complicated by the lack of short to mid term rentals available.”
The Careers and Employment Expo put about 120 local students from Balaklava High School, Horizon Christian School and Harvest Christian School (Kadina) in front of eight major employers in the Wakefield area.
Participating employers included primary production firms Viterra, AGT Foods and Balco, while the health sector was represented by Mill Court Homes (aged care), SA Health (nursing and primary health) and Baptcare (National Disability Insurance Scheme).
Wakefield Regional Council and the Australian Defence Force also had a stall at the expo, while representatives from the Mid North Local Jobs Program and the Industry Training Hub helped facilitate the event.
Promoting these employment opportunities and future career options to school students effectively removed the requirement to find short term accommodation and potentially retains a young person in the community.
Some employers who seek seasonal workers for harvest revealed they had lost their connection to local youth and were looking to re-establish that link.
The expo also gave students moving into their latter schooling years some networks and ideas for work experience to potentially explore in coming months.
“But speaking with participating employers and local teachers involved, both parties were extremely satisfied with how the event went and there will no doubt be some good results to come from the expo.
“We also had positive feedback about the smaller nature of the event, with students able to engage with each employer during the sessions allowing for better promotion of their business and respective job opportunities or career paths.”