Crystal Collins, Assistant Director of K-12 Partnerships at Richmond Community College, talks with a student about jobs at FirstHealth during the 2024 Richmond Senior High School job fair held on April 10, 2024, in the school’s gymnasium.
Richmond Senior High School’s Career Development Coordinator, Jason Perakis, talks with local employers during the 2024 Richmond Senior High School job fair held on April 10, 2024, in the school’s gymnasium.
RICHMOND — More than 30 area businesses filled the Richmond Senior High School gym Wednesday morning to connect with seniors about area jobs during the spring job fair.
Sponsored by the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce and the Richmond County Schools Career and Technical Education department, the event is the first step in rebuilding the area with a local workforce ready to grow an economy for future generations.
Kristi King, the CEO and president of the chamber and a Richmond Senior alum, said the job fair allowed students and local employers to have those conversations about the opportunities here in Richmond County.
“We want to keep people in Richmond County and raise families to be future Raiders,” she said. “We want our young adults to stay home and know there is a place for them to make a good living.”
King said that many students don’t realize how many hometown businesses are right around the corner offering jobs to high school graduates.
“This event is amazing because it engages these students more,” she said. “If they’re not already on a career path, they might have discovered one today, which gives them options to succeed after high school.”
As students visited the different tables, King watched business leaders talk with students about their lives after graduation.
“We have a really good workforce here in Richmond County,” she said. “I don’t even think many people who live here fully understand all the opportunities.”
King admitted that many students are ready to leave the county, but she hopes that after the job fair, they might change their minds and return home after college or trade school training.
“Students can be proud of their community, and they know they can make a difference by staying here,” she said.
King credits the efforts of the school district’s Career Technical Education program led by Greg Norton to the success of keeping young adults in their hometown and raising families.
“I think the CTE program here is phenomenal,” she said. “I think it’s one of the best in the state, if not the best. “They have done a great job of educating the students about what’s here. They are helping students explore different trades after high school. College is not for everyone, and that’s ok.”
Jerry Ethridge, a long-time Richmond County School board member, was talking with the business leaders and students. He said he hopes students understand that Richmond County has a future for them.
“Our schools are developing some very smart children here in our county,” said Ethridge.
He said big city lights from Raleigh, Charlotte, or Greensboro would attract graduates with higher wages and more opportunities. Still, Ethridge said many return home after some time away.
“What we see is that they realize that Richmond County wasn’t a bad place to live and come home,” he said. “Hopefully, today, we can show these students that we have big lights here without the bad traffic and high cost of living.”
With so many companies at the job fair, Ethridge said he’s proud to see the community supporting the high school students.
“It means they want to hire people,” he said. “I love seeing our community cooperating with Richmond County Schools. It’s a big deal to have that partnership.”
Ethridge said Richmond Community College and the school district go above and beyond to ensure students are prepared to succeed.
“Here today, we are seeing our local businesses going the extra mile and taking time away from their busy schedules to give our students another choice and hopefully stay home here in Richmond County and grow our communities.”
The job fair was planned and coordinated by Richmond Senior High School’s Career Development Coordinators, Jason Perakis and Cherie Young, with the help of Lisa Campbell, the CTE Curriculum Instructional Management Coordinator.
Unlike past school-sponsored job fairs, this event was open to only seniors in hopes of giving them more one-on-one time with employers to fill those much-needed local job vacancies.
“We always talk about how great our students are, and today, we got to highlight Richmond County’s best,” Perakis said. “These companies get to meet the students and students to meet them. Hopefully, these conversations will lead students to know they have a job after high school.”
“Richmond Senior High School is a quality school, and our teachers are setting up our students for success,” he said. “Our CTE departments in the county are teaching them life skills and the six employability skills. We want our students to know that they have a community behind them and are not alone.”