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May 30, 2019Capital Region BOCES Matches Adult Students with Health Care Employers
More than 150 adults were matched with potential jobs during a Capital Region BOCES Health Careers Jobs Fair targeted specifically to students in the Adult Health Careers program.
Healthcare providers from across the spectrum of services recruited the students as they sought to counteract the impacts of the national nursing shortage. Employers on hand ranged from Albany Medical Center to WellNow Urgent Care, Living Resources and St. Peter’s Hospital. They handed out applications, described their institutions and even conducted interviews with the students who will be graduating the BOCES adult programs in the coming weeks.
“It’s going very well this year. We’ve already had three go through the interview process. I know last year we had a good turnout and hiring process result from this career fair,” said Adam Zak, a recruiter with St. Peter’s Health Partners.
Celeste Conte, a recruiter for Albany Medical Center, agreed.
“We’ve had really good candidates come out of these programs; we had a number of hires from this career fair in the past year and I see no reason why this year will be different,” Conte said.
More than 30 area health care providers were on hand for the event, meeting with students who range from right out of high school to adults changing careers or reentering the workforce.
“I am looking for a job as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and seeing all that is out there. I have been out of the job market for 16 years as a stay-at-home mom, so it’s all coming back to me now. There is a lot of opportunity out there,” said Ronni Ippolito, of Schenectady.
Classmate Carly Miller said she is surprised at the amount of opportunity out there for LPNs.
“I didn’t know that LPNs could do so much. I thought it was basically nursing homes, but there’s so much more. I am really interested in hospital work – pre-op and post-op – so this is great,” she said after meeting with Albany Medical Center recruiters Celeste Conte and Lindita Kita.
Meanwhile classmate Nigeria Campbell said she is looking to sample the nursing opportunities before choosing the career destination right for her.
“I love everything about this. I want to get out there and see what it’s all about and then find out what works best for me,” said Campbell.
Paula Negri, principal of the adult health careers program, said the annual careers fair is mutually beneficial to employers and students.
“This is a great opportunity for students to get their name out there and find the right job for them and an equally great opportunity for employers to find well-trained workers ready to be hired,” she said.
