WINTERVILLE — Pitt Community College’s Health Sciences Division will showcase its programs this fall during a career information fair for high school students and members of the community.
Set for Oct. 2, the event will feature simulations that introduce attendees to Pitt’s health sciences facilities and demonstrate how health care professionals work collaboratively to provide quality care to patients.
“This is PCC’s third career fair focused solely on promoting health care careers,” said Tami Flynn, PCC Health Sciences Career Fair co-chair. “It will offer the community an opportunity to see firsthand the different types of health care professionals PCC trains and how they collaborate with one another to provide exceptional patient care. It will also showcase the programs Pitt offers to prepare people for those careers.”
The event will take place in the college’s William E. Fulford and Herman Simon buildings along with the Craig F. Goess Student Center’s Davenport Multipurpose Room. Public and private high school students will visit in the morning and early afternoon. Homeschool students and members of the public are invited to stop by from 5-7 p.m. The last simulated tour begins at 6 p.m.
“An aging population and decline in people interested in pursuing careers in health care have combined to produce a shortage of health care workers like we’ve never seen,” said Kendall Commodore, PCC Health Sciences Career Fair co-chair. “Pitt Community College’s Health Sciences Division is collaborating with its community partners to bridge this gap.”
Representatives from each of Pitt’s 23 health sciences programs will be on hand throughout the fair to discuss curricula, career options and special admission requirements. Attendees will also have an opportunity to apply for PCC admission and learn more about student support services, including financial aid, counseling, disability and accessibility, student activities and athletics.
PCC Health Sciences Dean Tywana Lawson says the career fair is “an opportunity for the next generation of health care professionals” to witness the collaborative nature of health care firsthand.
“As a division, we aim to provide the workforce needed to meet our local community health care needs,” Lawson said. “Our goal is that by the end of the career fair, local high school students have a greater understanding of the health care careers they can train for right here at PCC.”
There is no cost to attend the fair, and pre-registration is not required. Parking is also free and will be available in the lots outside of the Fulford Building.
College preparing to host forklift rodeo in October
PCC is partnering with local businesses and organizations to hold a Forklift Rodeo Safety Competition on National Manufacturing Day.
According to Patrick Jacques, dean of PCC’s Construction and Industrial Technology Division, the rodeo will take place on Pitt’s campus from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 4. In addition to PCC, the event is being sponsored by Hyster-Yale Group, Gregory Poole Lift Systems, Pitt County Economic Development and RiversEast Workforce Development Board.
“The Forklift Rodeo is part of PCC’s celebration of Manufacturing Day, which takes place nationwide on the first Friday in October each year,” Jacques said.
“It’s a chance to highlight and spur interest in manufacturing careers and showcase the programming PCC offers to prepare students for those jobs,” he said.
Jacques says the rodeo will feature skilled drivers from local manufacturing companies maneuvering lift trucks around various courses to demonstrate their operating skills and knowledge of workplace safety standards. He says the event will take place in the parking lot adjacent to the G.H. Leslie Building and include music, food trucks and guided campus tours.
“The competition is a chance for local industries to come together on Manufacturing Day to celebrate forklift drivers,” Jacques said. “If you think about it, nearly everything we encounter in our daily lives has been moved around by a forklift at some point.”
Jacques says this year’s competition will feature four teams from businesses and industries located within the five-county area — Pitt, Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford and Martin — served by RiversEast. A three-man team from Fastenal’s Greenville branch claimed first place in the 2023 Forklift Rodeo Safety Competition at PCC.
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