Two Harbors DECA students redesign career fair, invite local businesses

At Two Harbors High School, students are helping turn the annual career fair into a more direct pipeline between Lake County employers and the next generation of workers. The Lake County Chamber says the Lake County Community Career Fair will be held Thursday, April 30, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Two Harbors High School Gymnasium, 1640 County Hwy 2, with businesses able to register and exhibitor spots priced at $100 for chamber members and $150 for non-members.

The chamber says the event is meant to bring together local students and businesses to build connections, explore career opportunities and strengthen the workforce pipeline. That mission lands in a county where local prosperity is tied to the people and skills available to local companies, according to Lake County workforce materials. The chamber’s reach also stretches well beyond Two Harbors, with members in Silver Bay, Beaver Bay, Finland, Isabella, Knife River, Duluth and Grand Marais, giving the fair regional weight as well as local significance.

This is not the first time the chamber has used Two Harbors High School as a workforce gathering place. In 2023, it organized a Community Career Expo there to address hiring needs and connect job seekers with employers. That event included resume guidance, mock interviews and free digital headshots on site, a sign that the fair has already moved beyond a simple handout-and-hello setup and into more practical job readiness.

The student role matters because Two Harbors High School, a grade 6-12 school with about 700 students, is already a place where career-centered leadership has a visible footprint. The school hosted a DECA mini-district competition in December 2024 that drew about 100 students from Two Harbors, Rock Ridge, Proctor and Superior, Wisconsin. DECA says it prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management, a fit for an event that asks teenagers to think seriously about what local work looks like after graduation.

That focus lines up with the Lake County Workforce Development Board’s 2025-2029 strategic plan, which says its mission is to ensure a workforce equipped for today and prepared for tomorrow. One of its key imperatives is accelerating career pathways, and the April 30 fair is a tangible example of that strategy playing out in a school gym. If the redesigned event works, it could help more Lake County students see a future in the county before they look elsewhere for one.