Welcome to a New Kind of Career Exploration
MiCareerQuest is not your average career fair. In fact, it’s not a career fair at all. It’s a career exploration experience.
During MiCareerQuest, students rotate through sectors highlighting six high-demand industries: agribusiness, advanced manufacturing, construction, health sciences, hospitality, and information technology. Students engage with professionals and participate in activities that showcase various high-growth occupations, opening their eyes to opportunities for great careers in West Michigan.
Additionally, representatives from educational institutions help students make the connection between training, education and careers.
FACT: 37.5 million Boomers will retire in the next decade, yet only 21 million workers will enter the workforce to replace them.
As a region, how can we address these impending workforce shortages?
MiCareerQuest, an innovative, experiential career event, was created in 2015 by Michigan Works! Kent, Allegan & Barry Counties (now West Michigan Works!), Kent ISD and the Construction Workforce Development Alliance (CWDA) in response to employers’ need for future talent in construction, health care, information technology and manufacturing.
In 2016, MiCareerQuest's first affiliate event was held in Kalamazoo. Today, employers and industry alliances across the country are hosting CareerQuestUSA events to expose students to the wealth of career possibilities in their regions.