(Arnolds Park)– An event that’s a win-win for lakes area businesses looking for help during the upcoming summer and school kids looking for seasonal jobs is coming up April 10th. Okoboji High School Principal Brian Downing tells KUOO news they’ll be holding their annual Summer Job Fair Friday, April 10th at the Roof Garden in Arnolds Park…
“It’s hard to believe this is our 10th one. Each year it seems to grow and grow. We have some businesses that have been there from the start and then every year there’s a few new businesses that find out about it or maybe new businesses that have opened up. We’re to the point now to where we have representatives from these businesses that were students that got hired at the job fair back in the day. But a lot of it is summer employment. Obviously the Okoboji area is a great place for young people to get that first job or second job while they’re still in school, and we really value the lessons that our kids learn through that summer work and obviously the financial implications for them are great as well. Okoboji summers can’t happen without a whole lot of help so it’s a great example of schools and businesses all working together.”
Downing says they are now accepting registrations from businesses for the event…
“We have a very simple form that can be found on our school Facebook page, it’s also going to be linked at the top of our school district website, okobojicommunityschools.org. We’re also sending it out to the Chamber of Commerce and all of our local news agencies to try to get that link out there. Takes about one minute to fill it out and then you’ll be on the contact list. The job fair starts at about 8:30 in the morning. Our businesses can get in at 7:30 to get set up and by 8:30 we’ll have lots of young, eager people coming through looking for jobs.”
Downing says the event typically draws 250 to 300 students…
“We always take all of our 8th and 9th graders. A lot of times those kids are looking for a first job and so if it’s a job that can be done by somebody under 16, those are always some of the most sought after kids because you can get them in there at 14 or 15 and maybe have an employee that will stick with you for several years and not have to be re-trained. Then we have all of our 10th through 12th graders that can sign up to attend if they would like to, and generally we have maybe between 50 and 100 of those students who will come. Some of those students looking for a second job or maybe trying to see if they can get a better job or a more higher paying job with more hours. And then we always issue an invitation to all of our area schools if they have any students that would like to attend.”
Again the Okoboji Summer Job Fair will be held April 10th from 8:30 until 11:30 that morning at the Roof Garden in Arnolds Park. Businesses can sign up here.
