INUVIK
Students at East Three School and from around the Beaufort Delta had a plethora of information to process at the seventh annual East Three Secondary School career fair March 12.

Simon Jozzy, an Inuvik dentist, was kept busy trying to recruit students to consider dentistry as a viable career option March 11 at the East Three Secondary School career fair. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

More than 30 companies and organizations attended the event, up substantially from previous years.

The booths ran the gamut from government departments to local organizations such as the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Inuvialuit Communications Society and the Gwich'in Renewable Resources Board.

The fair also included a Skills Canada competition for the Delta region.

Students attending the career fair said they were impressed with what they were seeing.

"It's fun to walk around and take a look at the jobs," said Chantal Schab.

"It looks pretty good," said an enthusiastic Deron Stewart. "You learn a lot at these things."

Julienne Chipesia, 13, expanded on those sentiments.

"It's a good opportunity to learn what opportunities there are for a career in the North," she said.

Several of the exhibitors said they found participating in the event worthwhile as well.

"There are lots of opportunities in the North," said Simon Jozzy, an Inuvik dentist.

He added that social services jobs, medical careers and government jobs always intrigue the students but it's a much tougher sell to find any interested in dentistry as a career.

That's despite the high demand for dentists in the North, Jozzy said.

Many people associate the profession with discomfort and pain, he said, and can't look beyond that to see the employment prospects and the potential for community service.

Dentistry isn't all about pulling teeth, Jozzy said. There's also a huge opportunity to promote community wellness and preventative medicine, but most people don't see that.

"It's considered a scary job," he said.

One of the busiest booths was being operated by the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority. Lesa Semmler, a public health nurse, and community health representative Crystal Navratil were providing some hands-on examples of health services to the students.

"Did you eat breakfast this morning?" Navratil asked a sheepish Johnny Charlie, after testing him for his blood-sugar levels.

He rang in at a 4.7, which is rather low and verging toward hypoglycemic, Navratil said.

Charlie, a Grade 11 student, sheepishly admitted he hadn't eaten breakfast, which explained the low blood-sugar levels, which can produce a variety of symptoms, including fuzzy thinking and fatigue. None are particularly conducive to learning, Semmler said.

She added it's not uncommon to see that among youth, particularly those in high school, who regularly skip breakfast.

Diabetes, of course, is an all-too-common problem in the North, but most of the students were checking in with normal blood-sugar levels.

Brigette Kay, a career liaison officer with the school who helped organize the career fair and skills competition, said "we started this to give the students a chance to practice their hands-on skills, such as cooking, cosmetology, and so on.

"The career fair is to expose our students to opportunities they might not think of," Kay added. "We have a bunch of newcomers this year, such as the Yukon College for the first time."

She said most of the nearby government organizations were well represented as well.

"We invite just about everybody we can, however there could be staffing issues and other issues, such as with Northwind Industries, who couldn't come."

Older students are provided with evaluation sheets to be turned in, to help them focus on the information they have been provided.