Buena Vista County students explore skilled trades at Spencer fair

Up to 1,000 high school students from Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties got a close look at jobs local employers need to fill at Build My Future in Spencer, a hands-on skilled trades fair aimed at turning curiosity into a workforce pipeline.

The event took place April 23 at the Clay County Regional Events Center and was organized by the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation with Northwest Iowa STEM as a partner. Rather than a lecture-style job fair, the Corridor designed it as an interactive career day where students could meet employers and try job-specific tasks in fields that included manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, trucking and law enforcement.

The list of trades went further than the usual classroom talking points. Event materials also highlighted automotive and mechanic work, emergency services, military service, and commercial and residential construction, all sectors that depend on a steady supply of young workers. One station gave students hands-on plumbing instruction, a direct look at the kind of practical skills that can lead to jobs with local builders, contractors and service companies.

Attendance appears to have matched the region’s workforce concerns. While the Corridor expected about 700 to 1,000 students, local coverage said more than 750 students from 15 schools took part, with over 50 businesses represented. That gave employers a chance to meet students before they make post-high school decisions that often shape whether talent stays in northwest Iowa or leaves for college and never returns.

For Buena Vista County, the event underscored a broader economic question that reaches beyond one day in Spencer: how to keep enough workers in hospitals, shops, factories, trucks and job sites to support the region’s growth. The Corridor has been pushing a Homegrown Talent Initiative aimed at encouraging young people from the area to return after college and build careers locally, and Build My Future fit squarely into that strategy.

The fair’s scale suggested it was more than a one-off showcase. With students from four counties, dozens of employers and a full day of hands-on exposure, Build My Future offered an early look at the region’s labor force future and the jobs that will determine whether Buena Vista County and its neighbors can staff the next generation of local businesses.