Just about every ninth-grade student in Berrien County is scheduled to be at Lake Michigan College on Friday, October 20 for Career Pathway Day 2023.
The event is a partnership between Berrien RESA and Michigan Works, and it’s intended to show the students local careers available in six pathways. RESA Assistant Superintendent of Career and Technical Education Chris Machiniak tells us there are opportunities in most fields available right in our area.
“Probably, if you’re looking at just the sheer number of jobs, healthcare and manufacturing are the largest two, but between the human services and the business pathways, there are so many opportunities for our kids,” Machiniak said.
Students will be interacting with engineers, business owners, emergency medical technicians, biologists, agriculture consultants, office managers, and more. Machiniak says the professionals who come out to give presentations are always eager to show young people what they do and inspire some to enter the same field.
“A lot of the companies go to different job fairs and those types of things, but we get a lot of buy in because it’s showcasing their career choice and not necessarily their company, and it allows them to showcase that for these young students to energize them, to engage them.”
Employers representing the fields of manufacturing and engineering, health, human services, arts and communication, business, and natural resources and ag will be there.
Machiniak says he frequently talks to students who found their calling thanks to Career Pathway Day. In all, about 2,000 kids will attend.
