The Better Skills, Better Jobs Fair returns to the Greenville Convention Center on Oct. 3, giving adult jobseekers and Pitt County high school students a chance to explore the region’s workforce development needs and training options.
Organizers say more than 100 eastern North Carolina businesses and industries will participate in the event. They’ll be joined by representatives from community resources and educational institutions ready to discuss programs and services their organizations offer to prepare individuals for the workplace.
“Since the first Better Skills, Better Jobs Fair in 2021, the event has proven to be a valuable and effective means of connecting thousands of people searching for jobs or more gainful employment with the businesses and industries in our community that need them,” Pitt Community College President Maria Pharr said. “It’s a perfect example of the wonderful opportunities that can occur when employers, institutions of higher learning and community resources collaborate.”
Pharr said PCC is once again helping sponsor the fair and will be well represented at the event.
“Pitt Community College has something for everyone, whether they’re seeking a two-year degree, diploma or certificate,” she said. “We offer more than 70 programs of study, a variety of credit and short-term certificate options and a host of support services to help adult learners gain skills they can use to advance in their current workplaces or change careers entirely.”
In addition to PCC, the fair is being sponsored by the John M. Belk Endowment, Greenville ENC Alliance, Pitt County Economic Development, Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce and Inner Banks Media.
David Horn, director of Strategic Partnerships for Greenville ENC Alliance, says fair organizers are continually focusing on making the event “bigger and better” each year. Based on positive feedback he received during the 2023 event, when 124 employers and educational resource vendors met with 1,130 jobseekers, he’s hopeful turnout will be even better this year.
“One of the unique aspects of this particular career fair is that it incorporates an exclusive high school component into a program that brings together the area’s employers with our community’s education and workforce resources in one location,” Horn said. “It’s a powerful one-day event we’ve found to be very effective.”
The morning of the fair will be dedicated to booth setup and breakfast for vendors, followed by visits from Pitt County public and private high school students. In addition to careers, they’ll learn about working toward a college degree while still in high school through programs like Career & College Promise and the PCC-Pitt County Schools Technical Academy.
The period between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. is reserved for adult jobseekers, giving them opportunities to discuss employment and training options with representatives from companies and community partners like Pitt County Schools, East Carolina University, Greenville Utilities, Tradesformers, the North Carolina Coastal Society for Human Resource Management, NCWorks, ECU Health and Koinonia Community Solutions. Because some companies will be interviewing prospective employees during the fair, jobseekers are encouraged to bring copies of their updated resume to the event and dress for the careers they are pursuing.
Vendors and jobseekers planning to participate in the 2024 Better Skills, Better Jobs Fair must register to attend by visiting pittcc.edu/Better-Skills-Better-Jobs-Fair.
Pitt offering prep course for health sciences admission Exam
PCC will offer a course this fall to help prospective health sciences students prepare for the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS), a standardized multiple-choice exam Pitt and many other colleges require for admission to allied health programs.
The “TEAS Test Boot Camp,” according to PCC Health Sciences Admissions/Recruiting Coordinator Courtney Spence, features five sessions, each focused on a specific TEAS topic. She says the class helps participants sharpen their test-taking strategies and improve reading, math, science and English/language usage skills.
The TEAS exam became a requirement for admission to Pitt’s most competitive health care programs — nursing, radiography, respiratory therapy, cardiovascular sonography, medical sonography and occupational therapy assistant — in the fall of 2021. At the same time, PCC administrators moved up the college’s health sciences application deadline from April 30 to Feb. 15 as part of an overall effort to ensure seats in health care programs were being filled by students prepared for success.
“PCC health sciences curricula are rigorous, and we expect the best from our students as they prepare to work in health care,” Spence said. “TEAS helps us select the most qualified applicants for the limited number of seats we have available in our highly competitive allied health programs.”
PCC began offering the TEAS boot camp last fall, and Spence says it has made a difference.
“We have been running the ‘TEAS Test Boot Camp’ for several semesters and it’s helped raise our overall TEAS test scores,” she said. “Student response to the class has been great. Our most recent cohort was filled to capacity, and students have self-reported that they felt much more prepared for the TEAS exam after completing the course.”
Spence says this fall’s boot camp will take place from 6-8:30 p.m. in the Herman Simon Building (Room 201) on Oct. 16, 23 and 30 and Nov. 6 and 13. The cost is $40, which includes the “Official 2024-25 ATI TEAS Study Guide” that features more than 600 practice questions, detailed explanations of course content and a full-length practice test.
Registration for the boot camp opens at 8 a.m. on Monday. Students can sign up for it through the Continuing Education & Workforce Development section of the PCC website. After clicking “Register for Classes,” they can click “Register Now” and enter “TEAS” in the “Course Code Number” box. The deadline to register is 5 p.m. on Sept. 27.
Prospective students may contact Spence at cespence663@my.pittcc.edu for additional course information and registration assistance.
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