MiCareerQuest Southeast 2.0: Collaboration at its finest

Spotted in Novi, Michigan on November 8:

• 10,000 high school students from 160+ school districts and six counties
• 800+ chaperones
• 1,000 exhibitors presenting more than 200 occupations
• $200,000 in sponsorship
• More than 200 volunteers from local and state government, education, and workforce development

What is it?

MiCareerQuest Southeast, Southeast Michigan’s largest career exploration experience for students took place on November 8, 2019. Coordinated by Oakland County for the second time, this event showcased partnerships among Southeast Michigan’s workforce development agencies, school districts, higher education institutions, and some of the region’s largest employers and labor organizations. It highlighted four of the fastest growing industries in our region – Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology, Construction, and Healthcare.

MiCareerQuest Volunteers Mike McCready, Oakland County; Dan Hunter, Oakland County; Pam Valentik, Rochester Hills; Kim Marrone, Oak Park; County Commissioner, Helaine Zack; and Deputy County Executive Sean Carlson

I had the pleasure of volunteering in the Information Technology quadrant, which featured 42 different occupations. These included Data Analyst, Application Developer, Cybersecurity Analyst, Machine Learning Engineer, and Database Administrator – careers that most of us think of as “tech careers.” However, this quadrant also included public safety careers such as Police Officer, Crime Analyst, 911 Dispatcher, and transportation and logistics occupations such as Air Traffic Controller and Auto Vehicle Locator for transit agencies – careers that we may not automatically think of as “IT.” Including these professions highlighted the fact that information technology is embedded in just about every career today.

Students checking out careers in public safety

While Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education is critical to careers in information technology, employers are also looking for individuals who have analytical, problem-solving, and communications skills. Featuring these diverse careers shows young people that the world of work is increasingly technology-based and that we need to provide all students with an understanding of the principles of technology regardless of individual career goals.

Oakland County Executive David Coulter discusses the importance of career exposure through events such as MiCareerQuest.

Employers within the IT quadrant were as diverse as the occupations:

• AccelerateKID, a Wixom-based company, teaches students about entrepreneurship, programming, robotics, and coding in preparation for IT careers, showed students how to make key rings using a 3D printer and engaged them in different interactive activities.
  SMART Bus recruits Network and Support Analysts as well as Database Administrators.
• Oakland County hires Law Enforcement officers, Radio Communications Technicians, Traffic Analysts, as well as GIS Programmers.

Education institutions hire for IT occupations, and also provide training for in-demand technical skills. Training programs featured at the event included Automotive Security Specialist at Washtenaw Community College, Software Developer at Lawrence Technological University and Wayne State University, and Digital Media Specialist at Specs Howard School of Media Arts.

For me (I mean, for the kids), the best part of MiCareerQuest was being able to touch and operate equipment that they rarely get a chance to get so close to. Crosswinds Aviation, MIAT College of Technology, and Site Development Inc. were among the exhibitors in the IT quadrant, and brought some very exciting tools of their trade including a helicopter, airplane, and construction loader.

Other employers brought an Air Traffic Control simulator, police car, video cameras, and screens. Being able to sit in a pilot’s seat or a construction loader and see all the controls up-front, use robots to steer model construction equipment, or test one’s concentration for careers in air control make these careers real by broadening exposure and stimulating interest.

Crosswinds Aviation airplane

Increasing career awareness, exposure, and exploration is one of the actions identified by SEMCOG and MAC in Future Skills: Preparing for the Changing World of Work. Career Exploration gives students a reality- based understanding of different careers and provides opportunities to interact with professionals in the field. We support MiCareerQuest because it is one of the best examples of a collaborative regional approach to career exploration that exposes students from across Southeast Michigan to some of the most in-demand careers in our region. Creating a workforce with the skills needed to succeed in a continually evolving economy depends on understanding the options that exist and developing a broad range of skills to help navigate the future workplace for personal success and regional growth.