Future is Yours Career Expo inspiring youth
- EFN Staff | February 10, 2016
The Future is Yours Career Expo is the largest career for Saskatoon and north students in Saskatchewan. More than 900 students attended the event this year that was packed with role models, inspirational speeches and almost 60 exhibitors who want to recruit the next great First Nation or Métis employee.
Check out our 2016 Future Is Yours Photo Gallery here.
“We expend a lot of time opening doors. And these partnerships are starting to pay off,” said Sskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas. “And these students, they are seeing there is a life out there. It may mean leaving the reserve. Or it may mean getting those skills and taking them back to reserve. That is what we are hoping. We are trying to build some leadership skills so when these young people become leaders in their communities hopefully their quality of life will improve.”
The event has a full time person coordinating it and many Tribal Council staff add hundreds of hours leading up to the Expo. They also rely on sponsorship to fund it. For the last three years PotashCorp has been the main sponsor.
“This is a great opportunity to talk about career development and also for us to look for future employees. It is part of giving back to support the development of youth but also to some extent our own interests to make sure we are well positioned competitively to attract these people to jobs. We have a variety of different employees working at our booth. And you know what, they love working at PotashCorp and that is really what they want to share with the students,” said Leanne Bellegarde, Director Inclusion and Diversity at PotashCorp. “We have been sponsoring for a couple years now and we are pleased to work with the Tribal Council who have brought an incredible level of support and a great turnout of over 950 students once again and a great array of exhibitors. They are a great partner with us.”
Nefertiti Rosler and Rachel Linklater-Prosper came to the Expo with their school mates from Oskayak High School. They were impressed with the variety of exhibits. “I learned that there are more jobs than just the culinary arts out there,” said Nefertiti. “I could join PotashCorp or I could join construction or the trades. There are lots of other things out there to do and a lot to learn today.”
It was eye opening to Rachel as well. “I am realizing I am interested in a lot more careers than I thought I would be. This has been very interesting,” said Linklater-Prosper. “Now I want to be a city cop. I want to protect and make the streets better in our city.”
That is all music to the ears of Tribal Chief Thomas. “Some of these vendors have been here all eight years recruiting students and now they see their investments paying off as well,” said Tribal Chief Thomas. “We have a good partnership with PotashCorp. It takes a partnership and investment on both sides to make these things possible. At the end of the day the biggest benefactors are the kids and the vendors. They plant some seeds but they get some future employees.”