Close to fifty employers from eleven different industries joined EmployIndy for a sunny and warm outdoor career fair at George Washington High School on Friday, May 5.

Roughly 450 students ranging from freshmen to seniors circulated around the track, talking with employers, to learn about immediate and long-term educational and professional opportunities that are available in Central Indiana.

“It’s so rewarding to see all of these professionals get involved and engaged with students as they explore options for the next phase of their lives,” said EmployIndy’s Talent Bound Manager, Tressie Kaufman, who helped coordinate the event.

EmployIndy’s Talent Bound program partners with the local business community to provide career exploration and career-connected learning opportunities for young people that not only increase informed decision making and help them develop critical skills needed to succeed in the future of work, but also provides employers an avenue to be proactive in developing a talent pipeline for their organization.

EmployIndy encourages its business partners to engage with Talent Bound in multiple ways as it provides a wide range of ways to get involved, including: talent talks, talent prep, talent prep, talent mentors, talent tours, talent shadows, talent challenges, talent internships, talent apprenticeships, and talent hires.

Career fairs fall under the “talent day” umbrella, where employers or industry professionals can share information about a specific company, workplace responsibilities, and job skills in effort to allow young people to explore future career pathways.

EmployIndy caught up with two of the businesses participating at the event, Viant and Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBank Indianapolis) to learn more about what brought them to the career fair on a Friday morning.

Viant’s HR Generalist, Alexia Prokopos, said she came “to get the word out” about her company, as there is a concern about filling their talent behind upcoming retirees. Viant manufactures medical devices, and Prokopos emphasized that the company provides partial tuition reimbursement to employees who wish to pursue higher education and that it prioritizes internal development and promotions for their workers.

Meanwhile, FHLBank Indianapolis HR Generalist Emily Thomas described her institution as a “bank for other financial institutions” with about 260 employees in Indianapolis. She emphasized that tellers and financial advisors are not among those job titles. Instead, needs at FHLBank Indianapolis range from technical roles like computer engineering and IT to business and financial roles like business intelligence and risk analysts. Roles like these require bachelor’s degrees, but Thomas was also promoting the company’s internship program and said that she also just enjoyed talking with students and learning more about what they are interested in.

Amazon, FedEx Ground, IU Health, YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, Adidas Warehouse, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, Ed Martin, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Nissan, Kroger, the Indiana Air National Guard, Eli Lilly, Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, Project Indy and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are a few of the organizations that also had a presence at the event.

Visit www.talentbound.org/activities to learn more about the range of career-connected learning activities through which your business can begin to develop a new talent pipeline. To get started, reach out to our Business Partnerships at businesspartnerships@nullemployindy.org or visit our team webpage to learn more.