Students had an opportunity to explore a future career of interest on Wednesday during the Steinbach Regional Secondary School's Career Cafe.

Career exploration coordinator Darcey Steiner says they wanted to hold an event to give students the opportunity to explore which of the 16 career clusters is the most interesting, then what they should be doing now to help prepare them for the future.

"I kind of thought, how are we helping to prepare our students for this after they graduate. While they're still a student here, [we're] providing them opportunities to explore their interests and their abilities and what they like to do.  I though tit would be a good idea if we brought in representation from all the 16 career clusters."

Steiner says it was good to see many parents accompany the students to talk with various business representatives. She adds many of the industries were also an eye opener for students to see how many different job opportunities there are in one organization, for example, she says a trucking industry would also have administrative or mechanical careers.

"I'm hoping [the representatives] tell the students, if they're interested in their industry or their career, what courses they should be taking while they're in school, what skills they need, and then also just proving that resource for when they graduate. [This way] they know where to go to find the tools and resources to help them make these decisions later in life."

She adds the job fair in October is directed more towards post-secondary education and will continue to be an annual event for students, along with the Career Cafe.