THE Rural City of Wangaratta partnered with NE Tracks LLEN and GOTAFE to bring the Local Government Career Expo to local high school students in Wangaratta last week.

Students from Borinya, Wangaratta District Specialist School, Cathedral College, Wangaratta High School and Galen College all had hour long time slots to learn about the different careers available at council.

Council learning and development advisor, Jo Craig, said students got to speak to various departments and learn more about what council does and the opportunities available.

“It’s about opening up the workforce for us but it’s also for the community so we can encourage kids to stay locally,” Ms Craig said.

“We just want them to get a knowledge of the different types of roles that are in council because people don’t understand there’s around 200 jobs.

“We’re trying to address skill shortages and set up a workforce for the future.”

Ms Craig said the expo also hoped to open the door for work experience opportunities and site tours to council.

“From there we may offer school-based apprenticeships, so there’s a plan from here to show them more about the specific areas that are at council,” she said.

Alongside the 21 council departments sharing their careers with the students, there were also members from GOTAFE who spoke to the students about study pathways for council jobs that require a qualification.

Overall, more than 220 students participated in the day, with the aged care and early childcare departments being among the most popular.

Ms Craig said the connections with GOTAFE and NE Tracks LLENS was valuable to putting the expo together.

“The three of us have been working really closely for months to develop this so we offer that whole broad spectrum to kids,” she said.

Ms Craig said they are currently planning on holding a similar event in term one next year.