Upcoming job fair aims to meet the need for life skills students' future careers

As a parent to a child with special needs, it is difficult to navigate life post-high school graduation, says Courtney Kobelenske.

“If you don’t know about these things, they don’t tell you,” said Kobelenske, whose daughter Cora graduates from Burrell High School this spring. “You have to figure it out yourself, and it’s scary.

“It’s definitely in your mind constantly.”

So Kobelenske is coordinating a job show for Burrell High School special education students from 10 a.m. to noon April 12 at the Moose Lodge, 499 Reimer St. in Lower Burrell.

Admission is $2 and will go to students.

Students will work with vendors from Gus Franco’s Pizza, a Burrell School District nurse, a local guitarist and musician, an area teacher and Velvet Brick Soaps, Kobelenske said.

“I don’t like when the kids get put into one kind of box,” Kobelenske said. “They should be able to do anything they want to.

“This can show them what they can do — they can conquer anything. You just need to give them a chance.”

Kobelenske’s goal for the event is for students to get an exploratory look into different career fields and open their eyes to paths they can pursue.

She also plans a table to provide resources for families with children with intellectual disabilities to help guide them when it comes to entering the workforce. A representative from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation is also slated to attend the event, Kobelenske said.

Statistics from the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation showed just over 19,200 students received Pre-Employment Transition Services from July 2022 to June 2023, the most recent available data.

Roughly 5,650 people earned jobs then, according to OVR. The average hourly wage of those people employed was $17.24.

A 2021 study from the National Library of Medicine found, nationwide, adults with autism have an unemployment rate of about 40%, disproportinately higher than the general population, despite adults with autism demonstrating a willingness to work.

Kobelenske — who also coordinates the Alle-Kiski Inclusion Games each year — hopes the event fills a need.

“These kids can do it,” she said. “Give them a shot.”