More than 4,000 flock to Henrico Schools’ Career Expo, setting record attendance

Henrico Schools’ Life Ready Career Expo witnessed its biggest crowd yet at Hermitage High School Sept. 24, with more than 4,000 students and families coming to meet with employers from 129 different businesses.

The large crowds at the expo show a growing interest from families in workforce training, Henrico Workforce and Career Development administrative coordinator Beverly Cocke said, and a greater acceptance of post-high school pathways other than college.

“There were people coming in like crazy, it was a solid, steady two hours, but I think that really speaks to that parents and students are really looking to multiple pathways now,” Cocke said. “They’re hungry to learn about their career options and are understanding that, especially with the cost of college, that that is not the only pathway to a successful career.”

Henrico CTE hosted its first Career Expo in 2019 and saw lots of interest, with a crowd that almost reached this year’s numbers. Since then, the event has gone on to win a National Association of Counties award for innovation, and Henrico CTE leaders have shared the idea at national and state conferences.

This year, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin also stopped by the expo and spoke with several students, employers, and instructors from HCPS’ Advanced Career Education centers. Just last week, Youngkin spoke at a workforce summit at Hermitage’s ACE Center, encouraging school divisions to invest more in workforce training programs.

While the expo is designed to serve as “career exploration” – introducing middle and high school students to different jobs – some students and even parents have been able to secure internships or jobs through the event in the past, Cocke said.

“The focus of the event is career exploration, but there are sometimes students that are interviewed [by employers] or have that first look for an internship,” she said. “We have in the past had parents that have been hired at events.”

During the past few years, Henrico CTE has seen increasing demand from students for more workforce training opportunities. HCPS is now working to rebuild all three of its high school ACE centers to accommodate about 800 to 1,000 more students in ACE programming, with both Highland Springs’ ACE Center and the first floor of Hermitage’ ACE Center opening to students last school year.

Some CTE programs – such as nursing and health science programs, culinary arts programs, and the newly-created teacher apprenticeship program – have seen much more demand recently, Cocke said.

Henrico CTE also has added more programming for middle-schoolers in an effort to begin introducing students earlier on to different careers, Cocke said, which can better prepare students to join the workforce right after high school.

“In today’s world, if you’re a junior [in high school] and you are just beginning to look at what your options are, it’s too late,” Cocke said. “You may have needed a certain class earlier in your [school] career. So in Henrico County, we do interest surveys with our students in middle school and they do a Career Connection Wheel to help them to see which career pathways they may be interested in.”

As Henrico CTE has expanded their programs and offerings, HCPS has seen a growing number of students choose to join the workforce right after high school. From 2019 to 2023, the number of HCPS graduates employed after high school rose from 10% to 14%.

Each year, following the Career Expo, Henrico CTE also holds two other career-focused events – the Career Rodeo Skills Challenge in January and the “CTE Signing Day” in May – both for ACE students only. But this March, CTE leaders plan to hold a new event for all HCPS high school juniors looking for internships during the summer before their senior year.

The “IF” internship fair will feature businesses offering a nine week internship over the summer of 2025 to high schoolers, with all businesses being vetted through Henrico CTE beforehand to ensure that the internships are offering quality work-based experiences, Cocke said. Henrico CTE will also provide students with resume-building opportunities, “dress for success” sessions, and other preparation before the event.

“The goal is for our students to be prepared to be enrolled, enlisted and/or employed,” Cocke said. “And we want to help them have opportunities in internships and apprenticeships, to help them be prepared for their future.”

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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.