Rosedale Tech Hosts Job Fair To Match Students With Employers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - You would be hard pressed to find a traditional student at Rosedale Technical College.
"They range in age from 18 to into their 60s. We have people coming right out of high school and we are actually growing the number of students coming right out of high school and into Rosedale. We've been doing really well with that. We are expanding our reach. We are going out to Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Buffalo. We have something really special to offer here," Rosedale Technical College President Dennis Wilkie said.
Part of that offering is their job fair, which matches students with potential employers.
"It's just so nice that Rosedale can do this for us where we have all these employers here and we can chose the job that we want," Derek Rose said.
"Hopefully, I will get a few job offers. I do have a couple interviews lined up for today, and just learn more about possible jobs that are out there that I could apply for," Jared Colalella said.
HVAC, diesel, industrial tech, or electrical -- there are many choices for students who choose RTC.
"I came in only knowing how to change a tire. So, like right now, I am in transmissions. I am on my second tranny that I have already helped to take out, disassemble, reassemble and we are going to be putting it back in the truck tomorrow," Jessica Gazvoda said.
"I am looking for something that is really going to help me get into a job that I'm not going to get laid off from and if I do, I'll be able to maybe even work for myself if that happens," Vicki Jones said.
There are about 400 students at Rosedale. Some may not know what they want to study when they get there, but when they are done, they don't have to question about finding a job because 92 percent are placed upon graduation.
"It's a good boot camp to get them started especially in careers going forward," Bryce McLay, of Advance Auto Parts, said.
"I work with them with their soft skills, their resume building -- things like that. I see things on their resumes that might not need to be there or might need to be tweaked a little bit," Nicole Zurcher, of Express Employment Professionals, said.
At least one employer says simply getting the degree is only one third of the process.
"The next third is the first couple of years in the job because there is so much to learn there and then the last third is the rest of their career," Bob Boyle, of J.A. Sauer Co., said.
"It's all about what you want to do. It's all about how you take that step to further your education and what you want in life so, they give you that shot here," William Lewis said.
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