LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College students learned about job possibilities awaiting them, both currently and when they graduate, during the college’s annual fall Career & Graduate School Fair held Thursday at the P1FCU Activity Center on campus.
Around 140 employers and graduate school recruiters had recruiting booths set up at the event to talk with students about careers or graduate school. The employers and graduate schools were either regional or from Idaho, but several had multiple locations throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Students received information about current openings for part-time jobs, internships for credit and pay during both the school year and summer, seasonal summer work, and careers following graduation. A handful of graduate schools also were on hand with applications and to answer questions.
The fair allows students to hear from a variety of employers and help them match their degree and interests with the right company.
Erin Cassetto, director of Student Employment – Career Center & Work Scholars at LC State, said the fair provides exceptional value to outside organizations because of the diverse degree offerings at LC State. The college offers both bachelor and CTE degrees, and companies often have openings for students with either a four-year or two-year degree.
Career and graduate school fairs are beneficial to students because it gives them the opportunity to meet with employers in person, research companies, establish professional relationships, and discuss job opportunities.
Some of the larger employers in Idaho, including Micron, St. Alphonsus, and a few others from the Boise area, joined some of the largest local employers (including Clearwater Paper, St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, and Idaho Forest Group) to discuss the kind of employees they are looking for.
For some companies, such as Micron, it was their first visit to the LC State fair and it quickly turned into a positive learning experience for the three-person recruitment crew they sent. They came to the fair with the intent on recruiting students for their process engineer and technical engineer summer internships, but after seeing the list of four-year and two-year degrees the college offers, along with one-year certificates, they were planning to expand their talent search.
Health care and public safety industries were well represented at the fair and came from as far away as Montana and Oregon. Hospitals and health care-related recruiters stretched from the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area to Boise, including all the major hospitals. The city of Lewiston had a booth along with booths for its fire and police departments. The Idaho State Police also attended to recruit potential officers and dispatchers.
Other popular industries represented at the fair included banking, education, state and federal government agencies, accounting, transportation, manufacturing, and forestry.
Rogers Motors, which partners with LC State’s automotive technology program and sponsors the Rogers Motors Automotive Center at the college’s Schweitzer Career & Technical Education Center, is a great example of a company looking for a cross-section of employees. A Rogers Motor representative said they have approximately 30 openings at their three locations in Lewiston, ranging from sales and technicians to help in the business office and a social media manager.
Students who attended the fair were encouraged to bring several copies of their resumes to leave with companies for jobs and internships that interest them. Some businesses conducted on-the-spot interviews.
As well as LC State students, alums of the college along with students from surrounding colleges and universities were invited to the event, which is the largest career fair in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.
The title sponsor for the event is St. Joseph Regional Medical Center and additional sponsors are P1FCU and CHAS Health.