By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
Rutherford County Schools
More than 300 students from a dozen Rutherford County Schools met with 55 employers at this year’s Senior Hiring Event organized by the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.
“This isn’t just for students who are graduating and aren’t going to any sort of post-secondary (education),” said Regina Ward, director of Education and WorkForce Development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. “This is really an opportunity for students to find a place and a job that can set them on a career path.”
Ward added, “If I’m a student that’s on a health science pathway and I want to go to nursing school, and I know I’m going to a four-year institution when I graduate, this is still an opportunity for you because we have a host of healthcare providers here.”
Participating employers included 14 manufacturers along with 14 hospitality and retail outs.
The remaining 27 employers represented supply chain (8), healthcare (8), construction (6), military (3) and childcare (2) opportunities.
“This isn’t just part-time summer work,” said Ward, who described the employment opportunities as a chance for seniors to gain valuable career “experience in a field you want to be in long term.”
Blackman and Riverdale high schools both had 66 students participate, while two of the district’s alternative schools — Daniel McKee and Smyrna West — each had a pair of students participate in the event.
“It has shown me how people in the industry — at businesses — look at young people,” said Kennedy Doss, a senior at Holloway High School. “Next time, I would do more with my resume because I noticed they really look at it.”
Doss was one of 20 upcoming Holloway graduates who attended the event.
All 335 students took part in workshops prior to Tuesday’s senior hiring event at Blackman High School. The workshops covered interviewing skills and helped students create a resume as well as covered the importance of dressing for success.
“Students have to be dressed in business or business-casual to participate,” Ward said, “and they have to have 10 resumes with them.”
PHOTOS / KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
