SANFORD, Fla. — A first-of-its-kind event had hundreds of high school students from Seminole County Public Schools looking to the future.
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This unique job fair was held Tuesday on multiple baseball fields in Sanford.
The event brought all juniors and seniors from all nine Seminole County high schools together and, at the same time, all looking for a job.
Crooms Academy junior Quincy Perez is one of 700 Seminole high school students who participated in the district’s ePathway job fair at Bombah Sports Complex.
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These students are from every high school in SCPS, and with over 70 businesses and 4,000 jobs available, the possibilities are endless.
According to the latest data from the Department of Labor, 250,000 more teens are working now than before COVID-19.
This is changing things, with more restaurant and store workers and how people view teen jobs.
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Nearly 37% of teens are working or looking for work – the highest since 2009.
“Hopefully, students will take advantage of the opportunities and realize it’s not just about what they are doing,” said Mike Rice, assistant superintendent of SCPS. “Now it’s about where they are going.”
SCPS says it’s also seeing heightened concern about student loan debt.
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“I’m really trying to find a job to save up money because Embry Riddle, the price of it is a little steep,” Perez said. “It’s private, so there aren’t a lot of scholarships publically.”
Perez found an aerospace opportunity with Pneu-Tech.
The Seminole County school district has held a job fair for its students in the past, but this was the first time that juniors and seniors at all nine of its high schools could attend at the same time.
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