Mar. 9—Hundreds of seventh graders on Thursday, March 9, filtered through Lanier Technical College for an annual career fair coordinated by the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.

Many local companies have had a hard time recruiting and retaining workers in recent years, and career fairs like these help combat that trend.

Lanier Tech President Tim McDonald said the career fair, which began in 2019, was born out of a workforce development task force at the Chamber.

"As a way to address what we were calling then the 'skills gap,'" McDonald said. "Since the inception, we've seen that skills gap continue to widen. We just don't have enough young people pursuing careers, in all sectors."

Brenau University and University of North Georgia's Gainesville campus are also holding fairs.

Four Career Path Fairs are scheduled between March 7-17, and will include all seventh graders from Hall County Schools and Gainesville City Schools — around 2,700 students. More than 90 local companies representing over a dozen career paths are participating.

"In the past we've only been able to take 150 seventh graders from each of our middle schools," said Rhonda Samples, CEO of Lanier College and Career Academy, a Hall County high school that serves as the epicenter of the district's work-based learning programs.

"This is the first year that we have provided this opportunity to all seventh graders in the Hall County school system and the Gainesville City school system," she said.

About 700 students from Chestatee Academy, North Hall Middle and Gainesville Middle School West visited Lanier Tech on Thursday.

Giselle Aviles may not be old enough to work yet, but she is already eyeing a career as an electrician.

"My dad teaches me how to do engineering and stuff," said the Gainesville Middle School West student. "For example, if I want to change the light switch, he tells me first I have to turn off the power and everything. ... And then he teaches me the wires and all that to remove."

She had a lot of questions for Kay Cochrane, CEO of Cochrane Brothers Electric Company.

Cochrane said her company, which has been in business in Gainesville since 1980, has had trouble hiring and retaining young workers, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think this is a great thing to let them know what's out there," Cochrane said of the career fair. "We're here to show them all the different things that we do," including using an infrared camera to identify the source of an electrical issue.

"I think we're in a better position today," Samples said of worker shortages. But, she added, "We still have employers contacting us weekly" asking for work-based learning students.

"It really starts in middle school," Amy Davis, a seventh grade math teacher at North Hall Middle, said of the need to expose students to career opportunities.

One of her students, Corey Coggins, said he enjoyed the hands-on learning offered at the career fair. Corey and his classmates were learning how to perform CPR on human-like dummies. In a timed race, students performed chest compressions as the instructor sang "Stayin' Alive," often used to teach people the correct tempo.

"It's fun," said Corey, who wants to work in welding or construction when he's old enough.

The Gainesville and Hall County school systems have prioritized work-based learning in an effort to provide opportunities for students who want to pursue blue-collar careers.

Lanier Tech broke an all-time enrollment record this year for the second year straight as more students opt for trade school over a standard four-year college degree, which allows them to acquire skills quickly and start their careers sooner.

"I'm convinced that everybody's got their gifts, their talent, their aptitude that they're born with, and it's imperative that we give young people an opportunity to learn what that is," McDonald said. "But more importantly, how to apply that gift and continue to support the robust economy of Northeast Georgia, whether it's in healthcare, manufacturing, transportation or public service."