Aspire event teaches students about manufacturing sector in Brockville, Ont.

Hundreds of high school students were invited to an event in Brockville on Wednesday to learn about the manufacturing sector in the region.

The goal was to teach students what type of post secondary education is needed, if any, to work right in their hometown.

Called Aspire, it is an initiative by First Work and the Employment & Education Centre (EEC). Busloads of students arrived at the Memorial Centre eager and ready to learn.

"If you want to go straight into the workforce, you need to know what there is available to go into," said Ayva Verburg, a Grade 12 student at Athens District High School (ADHS).

"Now I know a few of the jobs I can do with mechanical engineering," added her brother Eli, a Grade 10 student at ADHS, after speaking with potential future employers.

More than 300 students attended the event, from Athens, Brockville and Prescott schools.

"3M told me about how they make the sticky stuff on tape, and then I also visited James Ross and they explained how they laser cut," Eli added.

ADHS teacher Jessica Diakun says it was a great opportunity for students to network, and understand what products are produced in the region.

"A lot of these kids, I hear them wandering around, not even realizing that these products are made in our community, so it's a neat opportunity for them," Daikun said.

"We explained to them it's an opportunity to come out and see all the different businesses in the community," Daikun added. "Some of them were welcome to bring their resume and so students brought their resume ready to talk to the different organizations and they were just eager to see what was out there."

"It's not really a job fair, it's more hands on event," noted Teanne Larocque, EEC business service manager. "They could really learn about the different jobs, the different careers and how to get employment in those organizations."

More than 10 local businesses took part, including Northern Cables, Giant Tiger, Burnbrae Farms, and Leclerc, one of Brockville's newest manufacturers.

"I think it's very important, especially if you grew up in Brockville, to try and keep your grassroots in Brockville," said Michelle Pompili, Leclerc talent acquisition advisor. "It's a great community, it has a lot of continuous potential growth and opportunities, so working somewhere near home is good."

"It's very important to make a statement to the community," Pompili added. "Not only us at Leclerc, but all of the manufacturing companies in Brockville, just for that awareness that the regular items that we use at home, whether it's cookies that you eat or something that you write on paper; it's important for the youth to realize that these things are being manufactured and produced here at home."

While some students will leave to pursue higher education in different cities, Larocque says it is important for them to know that opportunities do exist in their field in the Brockville area.

"Our aim is that they come back realizing there are positions in the manufacturing sector such as engineering, production operators, human resources, welding," she said.

"You can go away to school, and you can come back home and you will get a good compensation for that, and there's different avenues to get into," Pompili said. "It's not just operations on the floor, or production assembly. You've got engineering, you've got logistics, you've got warehousing, you've got quality, so there's just a world of opportunities that you can go to school and come work in Brockville."

The Verburg siblings, glad they were invited, left with an understanding that there is more opportunity in the region than they thought.

"I didn't know up until about a week ago what I wanted to do, so it was really important to come and find out what you can do," noted Ayva. "Especially for small towns, there's not a lot of options, so it's good to figure out what there is."

"I really enjoyed this experience," she said. "It was fun just to go around and learn."