Students observed interactive demonstrations by experts from eight career clusters at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
INDIANAPOLIS — Thousands of eighth-graders in central Indiana schools are exploring future career opportunities this week through hands-on experiences with experts.
Junior Achievement of Central Indiana is hosting the JobSpark Career Expo at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
“JobSpark is about sparking students’ interests and getting them thinking about what they want to pursue after high school,” said Molly Baines, director of JA JobSpark. “So when they think about their post-secondary plans, it starts in eighth grade, before they even start high school, with them choosing electives, doing a job shadow and thinking about what they want to do.”
Students viewed interactive demonstrations featuring experts from eight career clusters: architecture, engineering, construction, agriculture, food, natural resources, advanced manufacturing, engineering, logistics, business, finance, government, law, public services, health, life sciences, hospitality, tourism and technology.
An Indiana pork producer used pregnant pigs and ultrasound equipment to generate interest in his field.
“They’ve probably never even thought about working in our industry,” said Flora pig farmer Chad Martin, “so we’re just here to give them an insight into the industry and what it’s like on a day-to-day basis. What’s a day in the life of a pig farmer like? So it’s really cool to see their interest being sparked.”
The event is designed for hands-on fun, with no pressure to immediately choose a career, but perhaps some inspiration will be sparked.
“I think it’s really exciting,” said Northwest Middle School student Jaylin Dawkins, “and it opens up different opportunities for a new generation, so I think it’s really great.”
This is the generation that will be looking for work in five years.
UPDATE: Junior Achievement of Central Indiana contacted 13News Wednesday afternoon to let them know Thursday’s final day of JobSpark has been canceled.
“Several students started a fight at today’s event. No weapons were used. The safety of participants is our top priority. The third day of the event has been canceled, but organizers look forward to next year,” the group said in a statement.
This year was the first year the event was expanded from two to three days to provide an opportunity for more schools and students, but now those additional students will not have that opportunity.
