Students in grades 7-12 and their families can find out more about a variety of career and educational pathways Oct. 22 at CTE’s first Life-Ready Expo. The event will be held at the Advanced Career Education Center at Hermitage.

Talk with employers about career opportunities and the total value of their pay and benefits. Learn about multiple ways to “learn and earn” when you take advantage of employer programs that pay for employees to attend college and receive other training after high school. Attendees can also tour the ACE Center and talk with current seniors about their coursework and where they’re headed.

Henrico County Public Schools Life-Ready Expo
When: Oct. 22 from 6-9 p.m.
Where: ACE Center at Hermitage, 301 Hungry Spring Road, Henrico, Va. 23228

The Life-Ready Expo will also serve as part of the process for HCPS’ Career and Technical Letter-of-Intent Signing Day, an annual ceremony that celebrates students going to work for area employers. The Expo is designed to help facilitate connections among high school students and possible employers – connections that could be celebrated as part of the Career and Technical Letter-of-Intent Signing Day in the spring.

The Career and Technical Letter-of-Intent Signing Day emulates ceremonies that honor high school athletes. Students and representatives of their future employers both sign letters-of-intent at the event in front of families and members of the media, outlining what students must do before and during employment, what the employer will provide in pay and training and an estimate of the position’s value.

Being “life-ready” is one aspect of the school division’s Henrico Learner Profile, HCPS’ blueprint for K-12 education. It emphasizes the importance of “six Cs” for students: developing quality character and becoming effective global citizens, communicators, collaborators, and critical and creative thinkers.