Kaskaskia College Offers Free Career Exploration Workshops to Local Students and Workers

According to a study by BestColleges, 61% of college graduates would change their majors if they could go back to college. Other studies have shown that 80% of students change their major at least once, and on average, people switch their major three times while earning their degree. Joy Fitts, KCDean of Workforce Engagement and Industrial Career Service, said those changes could cost students both time and money. She said Kaskaskia College is offering free Career Exploration Workshops to help students learn more about career options before they sign up for classes.

The workshops provide free opportunities for people between the ages of 16 and 24 to learn about various fields, learn skills in those fields, tour places of work, and meet with KC faculty members over the summer. Fitts said workshops are an opportunity for those who are not sure what they want to do in their career, for those who want to try out different programs, and for those who entered the workforce after high school but are thinking about attending college. KC is offering a variety of workshops in programs such as agriculture, healthcare, criminal justice, trucking, STEM, welding, automotive tech, cosmetology, and more.

"Some of the students who attend the workshops have never tried learning skills used in welding, cosmetology, or automotive, but it may be something they are interested in learning more about," Fitts said. "These workshops allow students to explore different careers without a financial burden. We've had students who fell in love with a career field through these workshops and have completely changed their career path. Prior to attending a workshop, they may not have realized what jobs are available in our region or what the training requirements are to enter a specific career field. Also, for those who didn't attend college right out of high school, these workshops illustrate to them it's never too late to go back to college or learn a new skill. This is an opportunity for them to come back and explore new or different careers even if college wasn't a good fit for them at first."

Taryn Chesnek, KC CTE Work-Based Learning Specialist, said there are also Career Exploration workshops that are broad and not specific to any field. In these workshops, students learn about their own employability skills and will put together a resume before leaving the workshop.

"The importance of building a resume now is that you're going to need one eventually," Chesnek said. "Colleges and high schools can help their students build a resume, but not all students take the opportunity to do so. We stress to our workshop attendees that there are many different types of resumes and companies that are hiring sift through hundreds of them at a time. Students need to understand why having a nice resume is important to help them stand out and make it easy for a hiring manager. Even if a workshop attendee doesn't need a resume right now, it's a good reference for them to acknowledge their own skills and experience, and it's great to have a head start."

The workshops are being offered in May and June and range from a few hours to multiple-day sessions. Those interested can register and learn more here: https://form.jotform.com/231214863134146