COLUMBIANA TECH CENTER Exploring options at job fair

Some employers have attended the fair every year.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Ben Stepan's passion is high-performance engines.
He would like to work on drag racers or stock cars one day -- perhaps even land a job on a NASCAR pit crew.
The Columbiana County Career and Technical Center senior from Columbiana High School is in the second year of the automotive technology program at the career center.
During the career center's annual job fair Tuesday, Stepan met with representatives of the Rosedale Technical Institute. The Pittsburgh trade school offers training in automotive and diesel technology and electrical technology.
He said the job fair is a great opportunity to meet with college and trade school reps and potential employers.
High school sophomores and juniors spent the morning exploring the various options presented by college, technical school, military and government and business and industry representatives.
Practicing skills
Career center seniors had the opportunity to practice their interview skills with the job fair guests.
Seniors in the career center's culinary trades program had a busy day, preparing and serving lunch for the job fair visitors, and then a dinner banquet for 300 Tuesday evening.
Frank Imburgia and Larry Dubasik of General Motors' Lordstown Metal Center were touting GM's industrial skilled trades apprenticeship program.
A select group of students who rank high in the program tests are accepted into the four-year program each year.
Both Imburgia and Dubasik have participated in the career center's job fair all six years. They said the career center's training in not only specific technical areas, but supporting work in areas such as math and reading comprehension help prepare the students for the apprenticeship test.
Imburgia, an electrician, and Dubasik, a die maker, are both members of UAW Local 1714 and members of GM Lordstown's apprenticeship committee.
Computers
Nikki Bacon of United High School and Brent Mercer of Columbiana High School are seniors in the career center's network technologies program. Both want careers in computer technologies, and were surprised to learn of some of the many behind-the-scenes job opportunities in that field.
Bacon spoke to a representative of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation office in Youngstown.
Mercer, who plans to attend Pittsburgh Technical Institute, interviewed with representatives of the Home Savings and Loan of Youngstown.
tullis@vindy.com