ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD - Camilla Bertrand was considering becoming a journalist but she's now leaning towards becoming an auto technician or pursuing a career in the oil and gas industry.

Johnneil Bertrand, left, was one of the students who listened to Fort Liard Northern Store manager Anna Sahadat's presentation on career opportunities with The North West Company during the Fort Liard Career Fair. - photo courtesy of Christine Boyde

Bertrand's plans for her career path were swayed during the Fort Liard Career Fair. The two-day event, from March 23 to 24, gave students a chance to interact with 16 presenters from a variety of post-secondary institutions and businesses.

"It was very interesting," Bertrand said.

"It made me think about what I should do in the future."

During the fair, students at Aurora College in Fort Liard and those in Grades 8 to 12 at Echo Dene School had the opportunity to browse information booths set up by the participating organizations. A representative of each organization also gave a presentation.

Bertrand's favourite presentations were by the Aurora College Community Learning Centre in Fort Liard and Jayhawk Frontier Exploration Ltd. During the Aurora College presentation Bertrand said she learned about different careers, courses she could take to get into them and assistance that is available for students.

Aurora College and Northern Lights College, in Dawson Creek, B.C., also captured the interest of Emily Amprako, a Grade 9 student, although she preferred the booths over the presentations. At the booths you could see things close up and get information to take home, she said.

"It was pretty good," Amprako said about the overall event.

The fair was a Hamlet of Fort Liard initiative and was funded by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment. It gave students the chance to see the options available for continuing education and career choices, said Christine Boyde, who organized the event along with Roslyn Gardner Firth.

"The message to stay in school was really driven home and I think it was absorbed," she said.

Career fairs have been held in the hamlet in the past but not on a regular basis. Boyde hopes similar fairs will become a yearly event.

Some of the presentations students could relate to most came from aboriginal presenters who grew up in small communities, Boyde said.

Martina Norwegian, a business development administrator with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, Norwegian was one of those presenters. Before speaking about the work she does she shared her experiences about dropping out of high school and the challenges and opportunities she had returning to school later in life.

The overall message from the presenters was to stay in school, Norwegian said. Everyone emphasized the level of education necessary to access employment opportunities.

The fair seemed to capture students' attention, Norwegian said.

"They were very interested in what was going on and the interaction," she said.

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