Students get hands-on at Jamestown Career Fair

On Thursday, Nov. 4, more than 1,000 students from 22 area schools had the opportunity to experience a variety of occupations at the Health, Technology and Trades Career Fair at Jamestown Civic Center.

Organized by the Region 6 Inter-Agency Transition Team, the event brought 29 vendors with 59 different booths. Highlighted were occupations requiring one to two years of college.

All schools in the region are invited to bring students, and 60 high schoolers from Carrington participated, as well as 11 New Rockford-Sheyenne students.

Wyatt Weninger and Maverick Zink of Carrington High School challenged East Central Transitional Coordinator Vickie Becvar on the welding simulator, which was hosted by the North Dakota National Guard. Zink had a good weld, but Becvar's was just a bit better.

"I had beginner's luck," Becvar joked.

But Weninger had the touch, and his weld was the best among the three.

"It was cool to try hands-on things for the jobs I might pursue," Weninger said of the experience.

Zink agreed, "It was fun to experience a hands-on task associated with a job I might be interested in."

Meanwhile, over in the North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS) booth, NR-S senior Jorden Boehm operated power tools in their construction technology booth. Boehm is interested in automotive technology, which is also offered by NDSCS, so Becvar encouraged him to try a related occupation.

Pictured with Boehm is Cameron Winstead, an NDSCS student in the Building Construction and Construction Management program. He was sponsored by Hillerud Construction of Jamestown.

Butler Machinery brought a mini excavator, and students took turns navigating a series of tasks to better understand how to operate and maneuver heavy equipment.

In the Sky Climber Renewables booth, youth strapped into a harness and got a taste of what it's like to climb a wind turbine.

Becvar noted that there are incentives available for young people interested in pursuing in-demand occupations in North Dakota.

"They got out of it what they put in," Becvar concluded.