Rotorua careers expo draws thousands of students

More than 3000 future hairdressers, builders, lawyers and firefighters are expected to flock to the Energy Events Centre today and tomorrow for the annual Careers Expo.

There are 95 stalls at this year's expo, up from the 75 last year.

Jillene Moore is a firefighter at the Rotorua Central Station and was encouraging students to consider it as a career at the expo.

"It's a good job. It's appealing to me because it's a job oriented around caring for people and it's done as part of a team," Moore said.

"They are going to be doing extreme things for people who really need them in a crisis situation and are going to be so pleased to see them.

Bailey Kerei, 16, tries a firefighting career on for size. Photo/Stephen Parker

"If they like the idea of that this job is for them.

"It's completely about the people. When we are not fighting fires we're working in the community."

Brent Wyatt is the training business services team leader at Fire and Emergency NZ and he said he was trying to let students know the organisation was more than just firefighting.

"It's a very diverse organisation. There are lots of opportunities not just for firefighters.

"We've got IT support, finance, investigators."

Western Heights High School student Bailey Kerei, 16, donned the firefighters' uniform to see how it fit.

Bailey said he was potentially interested in joining the army and enjoyed sport and engineering.

"I'm here to see what opportunities there are."

Kelsey Church, 18, from Reporoa College, said the expo had opened her eyes to other opportunities for study in hair and beauty which she was interested in pursuing.

Expo chairwoman Sheryl Hewitson said it was a one stop shop for jobs and showed students what was out there.

Expo trustee Lynn Gillespie said it was a chance for students to link future jobs with future training and see what employment opportunities there were.

"Our kids don't get a lot of exposure in Rotorua. It's a way of broadening horizons and helping them decide what pathways they have available and what options there are. It makes it easier to make a decision."

The careers expo is on again tomorrow at the Energy Events Centre from 9am to 2.30pm.