Hi John,

You raise some excellent points there. Students indeed need many sources of information in order to consider their post school options.

Obviously the previous Partnership Broker instigated events such as the Gold Coast Health Careers Forum had excellent ways of having students engage in activities other than the brochure grab. It’s a shame that funding for that style of event was pulled before there was time for this style of event to become the norm.

Amanda

I too have witnessed some poor information given to students at career expos over the years. This issue really highlights the need for career development activities to be undertaken by students throughout their school years, not just at a one-off event like a careers expo.

At a careers expo you have (usually) marketing staff or student ambassadors giving general information under the pressure that comes from a large crowd. This information needs to be checked and verified before the students act upon it. Luckily we have some great programs and Guidance Officers in many schools who provide students with supporting activities and research. Students need many sources of information, not just a careers expo, to refine their post school options.

So, if students can get all of the information and download brochures from websites, I wonder how we can improve the way careers expos are operated. Are there other activities that can be incorporated into career expos, if “information gathering” can be done more accurately and efficiently online? Can career expos re-invent themselves to include other activities instead of a traditional brochure grabbing frenzy as the crowd rushes through?