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Representatives from more than 170 companies and organizations in South Dakota, the Upper Midwest and beyond descended on Lake Area Technical College Thursday for the school’s annual Career Search Expo.
They all had jobs to fill and were hoping to find the perfect employees among the LATC student body.
Company and organization representatives set up tables on all four levels of the LATC Student Center hoping to attract interested students with swag and information about their job opportunities. Students picked up pens, baseball caps, and other trinkets while dropping off their resumes.
Among those hoping to find an employee or two was Mobridge Police Chief Shawn Madison. He said this was his third time attending the Career Seach Expo, and he had already hired two officers from LATC’s Law Enforcement Program.
“They were both hired two years ago and are doing great,” Madison told the Watertown Current. “They’re awesome. They came in very knowledgeable and very well-trained. And they were real go-getters.”
Melissa Waldner, a business partner specialist at LATC, said the Career Search Expo is an important event for both businesses and students.
“We have tons of companies from South Dakota, of course, but some from Minnesota, of course, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, really from all over. Many of them come back every year, so they obviously are happy with the employees they find here.”
The event is held each year in October and marks the first opportunity companies have to come on campus to recruit workers. Impact Partners, companies who financially support LATC, have other opportunities to recruit, Waldner said.
She said planning begins months before the actual event.
“We open registrations in April or May,” she said. “We try to do it early in the year so these companies can get it on their calendar.”
Jasper Courteau, a first-year livestock production and management student from Astoria, S.D., donned a suit and tie to meet with potential employees. He wasn’t looking for a career yet, just a job while he finishes his education.
“This is just my first subject I’m studying,” he said. “Eventually, I want to go to the University of South Dakota and get a history degree. Right now, I’d like a job in veterinary medicine, or maybe something to do with crops.”
He was planning to walk around the Student Center until he found a company he might be interested in.
Kaitlynn Koll of Watertown is a third-year LATC student who attended the Expo. She graduated from the business program in marketing and management last year, and now is working toward a degree in financial services for consumer and ag banking.
“I’m just looking to see if there are any career opportunities for me,” she said. “I’m not sure what I want to go for yet, but I’m leaning toward something in the banking industry. There are a couple of businesses here I want to talk to.”
Matt Tobin of Spencer Quarries Inc. of Spencer, S.D., and its subsidiary, Commercial Asphalt in Mitchell, was attending the Career Search Expo for the first time, but he said it won’t be the last.
“We’re actively looking for some employees because we’re having some people retire. We have openings for mechanics, welder-fabricators and equipment operators. This is a great school, and we’re hoping to find some great employees.”
It’s a good bet that many students attending the Career Search Expo will land jobs. Lake Area Tech boasts a 99 percent placement rate, meaning that 99 out of every 100 graduates are employed or are continuing their education six months following graduation.
