One of the popular areas of the expo this year was the Youth Area, where organisers arranged a number of speakers, music and entertainment, encouraging plenty of engagement among students from different schools.
Around 60 exhibitors took part in the expo this year and organisers were pleased to see that there was a high amount of interest in tertiary education with EIT.
"We always do a lot to socialise with the kids when they come through," Passey said.
"This year we had animals to interact with, also bees so the students could look at the honey combs. We also had aroma tasting-of course it would usually be with wine, but on this occasion it was juice-and musical instruments including a drum kit to showcase our music courses."
Another highlight to the careers expo are scholarships offered by the Hawke's Bay and East Coast Careers Expo Trust.
"When the exhibitors pay to take part in this event, not only do they pay our fees, their contributions allow us to put money aside so we can give 1-3 scholarships to well deserving students nominated by their schools."
"They usually pick someone quite deserving; for example, the student maybe be going through a tough time and may not be able to afford tertiary education, so any extra help they need, we give," Passey said.
Former Tamatea High School student and scholarship recipient Amy Baker said it changed her life.
"It was such a huge relief to get the scholarship as I really needed assistance. I used it to buy all the technology I needed, like a new computer and all my art supplies."
"My school recognised that I was going through a hard time, family-wise, so they put me forward for the scholarship and it really has changed my life," Baker said.
Now in her third year of tertiary education studying a Bachelor of Creative Practice, Amy is focusing her career around the creative industry.
"I'm not entirely sure which area I'm going to focus on once I finish study, but I'll make sure it's something I very much enjoy," she said.
