ONE-DAY EVENT

Two career fairs are offered annually in different Canadian cities for students in Grades 9-12. Each career fair can accommodate up to 1,800 students. The day is comprised of three parts:

I. Role Models, Key Note and Motivational Speakers – there are keynote speakers at the opening ceremony, lunch, and closing program. Motivational speakers tell students how they realized their own dreams, and are excellent role models for the youth in attendance.

II. Career Workshops – career workshops ranging from business/finance to science and technology are facilitated throughout the day. There are approximately 100 workshops led by knowledgeable individuals in their respective fields. These speakers include dynamic individuals from diverse sectors of the economy; for example, Aboriginal physicians speak to students about medicine as a career, applying for medical schools, the areas of specialization that exist, and where the medical trends will be when students graduate.

III. Trade Show  - there is a booth/trade show area featuring educational institutions, government agencies and departments, corporations and a multitude of other professions who each provide information and one-on-one guidance about careers in their areas of specialization.  Students also meet senior executives from the financial world, engineers from the mining industry, trades people, psychiatrists and social workers, and leaders in new technology, all of whom show them the most up to date industry trends.

PROVEN TRACK RECORD

More than 28,000 Aboriginal students from across the country have attended BFF career fairs over the event’s 10-year history.  Students from Vancouver to Halifax have had the opportunity to meet experts in their fields, learn about individual career options, the education and training required, and the employment trends in these areas.  These highly motivating and inspirational career fairs are geared to provide students with the incentives necessary to set their individual career paths.  This important link is a first step toward their entry into the Canadian workforce.

BFF PAST AND PRESENT

In 2005-2006 the Foundation held BFF in Winnipeg and Vancouver.  At the Winnipeg career fair approximately 1,580 attendees, representing 55 Manitoba schools and youth groups participated.  At the Vancouver career fair, approximately 1,650 representatives from 102 schools and youth groups throughout British Columbia attended.  Each BFF event hosted roughly 60 career seminars, with an average of 100 students attending per session.  In addition, there were 57 exhibit booths in Winnipeg and 72 in Vancouver, where students met with representatives of various employers and found out more about their fields of interest.