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Diman job fair a gold mine for employers, as well as students
Haley Erickson, Aubree Thibeault, Kaelynn Hung and Joushua Daponte listen to a recruiter from the Fall River YMCA at the job fair at Diman Voke. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]
Sharron Furtado and Dylan DeMedeiros from PSI Systems talks to students during the job fair at Diman Voke. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]
Students talk with job recruiters at the job fair at Diman. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]
Diman Superintendent Director Tom Aubin welcomes companies as they set up for the job fair. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]
Rebekah Costa and Aliana Andreoli, former Diman dental students, were back representing Perfect Smiles at the job fair at Diman Voke. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]
FALL RIVER -- They say good help is hard to find. Not so Tuesday at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School’s ninth annual job fair.
About 80 companies and organizations packed the Diman auditorium that afternoon, as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors networked with prospective employers.
“There’s companies from all over, and we have the Armed Forces here, too,” said Kevin Lazaro, the director of co-operative education at Diman. “We probably have about 450 kids here.”
Students milled about, dressed in business casual and clutching folders filled with resumes. They collected business cards and shook hands with representatives from companies based in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Lazaro said the organizations present largely learned of the job fair through word of mouth.
“It’s the reputation of the event,” he said.
For a teenager, putting themselves in front of professionals working in the field they hope to enter can be nerve-wracking. So each and every student is coached on how to present themselves, dress professionally and project confidence, Lazaro said.
“These kids innately want to do well. We just have to foster that and provide the proper training,” he said.
Kyle Moore works as a program manager for DePuy Orthopaedics, a medical device company and a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. He has represented the company at the job fair each year since it began nine years ago, over which time the number of companies present expanded steadily.
“It gets bigger and bigger every year,” said Moore.
Diman students are not only well-prepared in the trade they study. Unlike other students who, Moore said, seem enamored with their digital devices, Diman students are present, conversant and skilled interpersonally.
Moore’s company employs 10 former Diman students full time, he said.
“It just shows the quality of these students. They walk in very well prepared,” Moore said.
Empire Group, a product development company based in Attleboro, exhibited at the Diman job fair for the first time Tuesday. It received about 100 resumes from students, said Chief Operating Officer Mark Sousa.
He searched for multi-talented students who are skilled in prototyping and design. He plans to invite a few of them in for a tour of the company and an interview.
“There are a few of them we’re targeting,” said Sousa.
High school junior Samantha Rodrigues, of Westport, is in Diman’s medical assisting shop. She passed her resume to St. Anne’s Hospital, where she hopes to co-op next year and eventually work after graduating from her college of choice, UMass Dartmouth.
She feels well prepared to take on the challenge, given the training she has in how to provide patients ideal bedside manner and treat both peers and superiors with respect.
“It’s about respect, it’s about work ethic, and starting freshman year that’s all you learn about. You learn that it’s about being prepared to further your career,” said Rodrigues.
Fall River police SROs James Riley, Joseph Galvao and Michael Hadaga meet with a student at their booth at the job fair at Diman Voke. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]
Marine recruiters Gunnery Sgt. Roy Jenson and Sgt. Brandon Ashworth prepare to meet with students at the job fair at Diman Voke. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]
Massachusetts State Troopers Bachir Kouta, William Wong, Nathan Monteiro and Venessa Gastor were ready to talk with students at their booth at the job fair at Diman. Fall River, April 2, 2019. [Herald News Photo | Dave Souza]