GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A career fair this week in Green Bay is focusing on the trades, while an event in Oshkosh is tackling cybersecurity jobs. While they’re different careers, the need fill positions now, and in the future, continues to grow.
Northeast Wisconsin high school students have options as they look to their future. And that’s exactly what they want.
Some like Emily Torres from Sheboygan South High School want the trades, “Probably something that I can do working with my hands that way I’m never bored. So, if I feel like I have something new to do every day it will keep me engaged and interested in my job.”
Others find careers in computers and cybersecurity appealing. According to Abram Harvey from Kimberly High said, “As of now, the last I heard, it’s about 700,000 openings in cybersecurity and there just isn’t enough people to fill those openings and so there’s a lot of positions that can be taken within the world of cybersecurity and it’s also rapidly advancing and always growing in what there is to do.”
Understanding the need, not only now, but in the future, in cybersecurity fields, UW-Oshkosh teamed up with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Cyber Threat Response Alliance to host a hackathon.
Dozens of kids from about ten high schools across the state are learning the fundamentals of cybersecurity, exploring careers in the field, and testing their skills.
Events like this, while educational, are also self-serving for an industry that knows it will need employees, in a variety of capacities in the future.
“We will not catch up to this, because as you said, things are evolving, the threat actors are getting better, people are just starting to wake up to the threats that are out there in cybersecurity. This isn’t just a today problem this is a years and years down the line problem and that’s why we’re talking to high school kids,” said Michael Patton with UWO.
Just like the cybersecurity industry, the trades aren’t going anywhere. Looking to the future, the need is only going to grow.
“We’re going to have all kinds of projects happening, bridges, new infrastructure, Wi-Fi going everywhere in the state, we’re going to need trade workers to be able to produce and put that work together. So, it’s going to be an excellent opportunity for people to get in, go through an apprenticeship and be a part of this,” said Ted Gumieny with the NorthEast Wisconsin Building and Construction Trades Council.
The council is using its annual career fair to introduce more than a thousand high school kids to 17 different trades. The hope is this introduction will inspire the next generation.
“These are careers, living wage sustainable careers with pensions and insurance plans. They’re great family providing careers for people,” added Gumieny.
And careers students at these events are considering even more after not only learning, but also getting to experience a day in the life.
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