Kern County Career Expo brings future jobs to all ages

Hope ShyAnne, Reporter

Hope ShyAnne
High school students walk away with free backpacks and information provided by the Bakersfield College Career Expo Committee.

The Kern County Career Expo took place at Rabobank Convention Center in Bakersfield on Feb. 28.
Over a thousand high school students, middle schoolers, college students, and parents roamed the area looking for what career might be a good choice for them and what steps are needed to make that an achievable career goal.
This is the Second Annual Career Expo, put together by the Kern High School District with help from the Bakersfield College Career Expo Committee.
This is one of the largest job fairs in the county, according to 23ABC News, where dozens of jobs have booths set up to inform the attendees of their careers, and have intent to hire them.
People were given flyers when they walked into the building containing a floor map where all the booths of different industries could be located.
The Convention Center was organized with over 120 booths.
Big businesses such as Chevron, City of Shafter, Walmart, iHeart Media, Dignity Health, and Bank of America all had kiosks set up with information and applications.
There were also local businesses like Rusty’s Pizza Parlor, Bolthouse Farms, Local 460 (plumbers and pipefitters), and Alianza Recycling.
Even military such as Marines, Air force, and the Army attended.

Hope ShyAnne
Many high school students gathered at the Career Expo at the Rabobank Convention Center.

Outside of the Convention Center, the Bakersfield Police Department had a swat car and the Kern County Fire Department had a truck outside to use as demonstrations, and the children that attended along with their family were playing in the trucks.
“I found out I wanted to be a therapist,” said Aleena Romero, a sophomore at Ridgeview High School in Bakersfield.
The Career Expo provided many different career ideas for high school students to explore and learn about.
“I’m looking for my career here. There are so many choices,” said Rafael Hernandez, a senior at Tierra Del Sol Continuation high school.
Along with careers high school students were provided with information from college booths, such as CSUB, Taft, and Bakersfield College.
The Career Expo provided workshops every 30 minutes on choosing a career direction, social media etiquette, and dealing with interviews.