THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505230100
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Clad in a conservative navy blue suit and with resumes in hand, Stacey Wood arrived at the Omni International Hotel dressed for success.
Wood, 18, who will graduate in June from Kempsville High, hoped to land a job from one of the 60-plus employers at a job fair sponsored by the Virginia Beach and Norfolk school systems.
Wood plans to attend college in the fall, but she was looking for a good part-time job, maybe in banking - ``just something to keep me on my feet, and money for school,'' she said.
With the skills she had learned in her high school marketing education classes, she felt prepared.
``I learned how to communicate well with people and how to interview for a job, plus we were taught a lot about selling and retail and management skills,'' Wood said.
That's music to the ears of the vocational teachers and administrators who helped organize the 16th annual Job-A-Rama.
As the job market grows more competitive and global, school officials increasingly are trying to produce students with skills that can be parlayed into good-paying entry-level jobs, or to equip them for apprenticeships and admission to technical schools or community colleges.
About 1,000 graduating seniors from Norfolk and Virginia Beach schools, all of them enrolled in some type of vocational program, attended last week's job fair.
While the odds of getting a job offer were slim, the event helped students make the move from school to the world of work.
``We look upon this as a connecting activity, a bridge between school and work,'' said Jinxey Poniatowski, school-to-work transition specialist with Virginia Beach schools. ``It helps them to build confidence. If they come out of here with a job or the potential for a job it's a bonus.''
To prepare, Poniatowski said, students write resumes and learn how to present themselves: the importance of a firm handshake, for instance, and eye contact and proper dress. And please, teachers enjoin, no gum.
Many of the students who attended last week's job fair said they planned to attend college. But they wanted to find part-time jobs to help pay for college or prepare them for careers.
``You want to look for a company that's going to grow some,'' said Peyton Brown, 17, a Green Run senior who has an after-school job as part of a school work program. Peyton said he wanted another job with room for advancement while he attends a local community college to ``get my grades up so I can go on to a four-year college.
``Working gives you hands-on experience with people and with business itself, so it's good to get out there early and get a little taste of it,'' Peyton said.
Some of the businesses came to recruit new hires. Others viewed it as a chance to offer a service and build community relations.
``It's a good ice breaker to give students a chance to talk with employers on a professional level,'' said Eileen Hagen, who operated a booth for Virginia Natural Gas.
``We're here looking for people interested in our trades who want to apply,'' said Patricia L. Stephenson, a representative of the Joint Apprenticeship Committee of the Plumbing, Heating and Air-Conditioning Industry. Students who are hired, Stephenson said, serve three- to five-year apprenticeships, getting on-the-job training while attending night school.
Linda Love, a school-to-work transition specialist with Virginia Beach schools, said the key to the future of high school vocational education is establishing more partnerships with businesses. The goal, she said, is to develop a registered student apprenticeship program to qualify students for a trade.
``It has to be driven by industry,'' Love said. by CNB