Correspondent photo / Bill Koch Jameson Fischer, 2 of Austintown, attended Saturday’s fifth annual Kids Career Fair at Mahoning County Career & Technical Center with his father, Mark Fischer, who works for Northern States Metals.

CANFIELD — Area children took the opportunity to play at work on Saturday at the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center for the fifth annual Kids Career Fair, sponsored jointly by MCCTC, Valley STEM and City Machine Technologies Inc.

About two dozen companies joined school staff to showcase various types of careers.

Jessica Cene, marketing and enrollment coordinator at MCCTC and Valley STEM schools, said five years ago she was approached by Claudia Kovach of City Machine Technologies with the idea of hosting an event for children in elementary school to help them start thinking about careers in skilled trades.

“We can plant the seed when they’re younger,” Cene said. “Helping children learn many different paths can lead to successful futures.”

She noted with skilled trades, young people can earn good money quickly in high-demand fields without student loan debt.

“All the trades need people. We get phone calls every day asking for skilled workers. There’s definitely a need,” she said.

Kovach is a corporate secretary at City Machine Technologies. She said she thought insufficient emphasis was placed on reaching young children about entering the trades. She said hands-on occupations, whether electrician or cosmetologist, “won’t be going to China and won’t be replaced by AI.”

This can be enlightening not only for children but also for the adults, who can “explore different options so they can talk to their children and grandchildren to better start foundations for their future,” Kovach added.

Poland fifth grader Liam Crowe already has that foundation. He was not only meeting with other employers, but was also representing the third generation of Crowe’s Cabinets.

His father, Tim, said, “We need people.”

He explained that cabinet-making is a different skill set from carpentry as the focus is on small precision parts rather than larger construction. “We use the small lines on the tape measure.”

Liam’s grandfather, Paul, started the company. He said while there is a lot to learn, “If you bring the attitude, we’ll bring the training.”

Alicia Berry of New Springfield brought her son, Cooper Bares, to the career fair. He is only in kindergarten, but she wanted to give him an early experience “to see what it’s like.” She already has a daughter attending MCCTC.

Fiona Philips is only in the fifth grade in Austintown, but already knows she wants to attend Valley STEM in four years and MCCTC in six years. She was accompanied by big sister Keira, who will graduate from MCCTC this year in early childhood education.

MCCTC students Alexis Kasner, Alisha Mullet, Piper Young and McKenzie D’Altorio are completing training in culinary arts.

“I love to cook. Baking is my passion,” Kasner said.

They all appreciate being prepared for an occupation that will always be in demand.

Austintown resident Mark Fischer did not need to be convinced about the value of skilled trades. He works for Northern States Metals, where he has performed robotics programming, industrial maintenance, welding and machining.

He brought his 2-year-old son, Jameson.

“I want my child to have an understanding of what manufacturing is. You can get into a trade and get a good career,” Fischer said.

Kelsey Francis is a recruiter for AIM Trucking, which set up a table for the fourth year. “We like to talk to kids and adults about things they can do,” said Francis, who said AIM employs not only drivers, but also mechanics and office workers. “Kids get to have fun and later on, they remember us.”