Career Expo 2016

The 2016 Whitecourt Career and Education Expo was held on Friday September 23 at the Allan & Jean Millar Centre. Sixty booths ranging from retail/food/beverage/hospitality and accommodations to community agencies, government and education, professional services, and forestry, filled the exhibitor space in the ATB Financial Fieldhouse. One of the booths in the Community Agencies category was Hilltop Photography.

Led by teacher Derek Schlosser, students take part in all kinds of activities revolving around photography including taking pictures of the Wolverines, Cats Football, the Mud Run, Sled Invasion, school division projects and much more. “We are here showing what we do for photography at Hilltop.  We do projects for the town and in the community, all of which are available for the kids,” said Schlosser. With 26 years under his belt for teaching, 15 teaching photo, Derek provides students with the tools and techniques needed to build a love and appreciation for photography. One of their newest pieces of technology is their drone which “adds a whole new dimension to our class and, of course, it’s really fun,” added Derek.

The Town of Whitecourt also had a booth set up where available jobs were advertised along with current projects for kids including “Mayor for a Day” which is very popular. “The kids really like the idea of being mayor,” said Shelly Mifflin who works at the Forest Interpretive Centre, “The reaction to it is really positive.” Shelly also mentioned that there are two postings currently available with the town and that roughly 10 more will become available in the coming months.

Students and all attendees were given a wide range of job opportunities to look into while perusing the expo, collecting information, and getting to chat with people already in each specific field. The expo was well attended and served a great purpose in helping locals advance their employment opportunities.