Do you know where the Career Planning and Placement office is? No matter what year you are in, everyone should know that the office is underneath the theatre, and that it’s embarking on something that will affect almost every student at King’s.
For several years now, the King’s College office of Career Planning and Placement has been a member of the Northeast Pennsylvania Employment Consortium (NPEC), an organization that combines the career offices of six Northeast Pennsylvania private colleges and universities. NPEC works annually on a region-wide job fair, which takes place at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre. The organization, which includes King’s, Keystone College, Marywood University, Misericordia University, Wilkes University and the University of Scranton, recently partnered with an organization known as Wall Street West to help bolster the workforce in NEPA.
“Wall Street West is a federal and state funded initiative to support the workforce and economic development of Northeast Pennsylvania,” King’s NPEC representative Christopher Sutzko said.
Wall Street West came into existence to explore NEPA as a potential candidate for expansion of major corporations that currently reside in New York City.
“The goal [of NPEC’s partnership with Wall Street West] is to make sure the private higher education institutions in NEPA are supporting the overall goals of Wall Street West,” Sutzko said. “The higher-education institutions are a critical resource and partner in helping our region improve its economic competitiveness with other regions.”
Wall Street West has teamed with NPEC in order to reach an entire region’s workforce as opposed to that of just one college or university. According to Sutzko, the combined number of entry-level professionals graduating from the six private institutions exceeds 15,000.
“That’s an impressive candidacy pool, especially when viewed as one large group,” Sutzko said. “Our ability to be perceived as one large group to industries considering to relocate to our region has been a critical recommendation for change if our area is to be successful.”
NPEC and Wall Street West can only be so successful on their own. It is up to students at the six private institutions to reciprocate the hard work of the partnered organizations with their own dedication to remain educated on a growing number of opportunities.
According to Sutzko, it is very easy to take advantage of the unique opportunity available through NPEC and Wall Street West.
“[To get started] students just need to participate in the specific programs being offered through their college’s or university’s career center, pay attention to what is happening around them, be proactive in their education and educational planning and ask questions.”
No student is too young to begin thinking about career options. The King’s Office of Career Planning and Placement offers a laundry list of general services and is right by the student’s side for everything from résumé development to mock interviews.
Sutzko encourages students to stop by the office and see how the top jobs in the country are more available than ever to King’s students. |
