WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It’s graduation day for more than 600 students at Palm Beach Atlantic University, and Natalya Castro is one of the lucky ones in her class.
“I feel so secure knowing that I have something ready and a good set plan going forward for the future,” she said.
Well before walking across the stage at the South Florida Fairgrounds, the Port St. Lucie native already landed her first full-time gig as an account manager for a marketing firm in downtown West Palm Beach.
“So, knowing that I had this lined up literally happened to me day after my last final, they offered me the job, which was great,” she said.
Laurelyn Davis, a communications graduate, is also looking forward to joining the workforce.
“As a freshman, college was hard and it was overwhelming,” said Davis. “I like it though, it just seems kind of unreal but exciting.”
Davis is focusing on positions in event planning and marketing.
“I’m interviewing with a few places locally and I’m hoping to have a job offer soon,” she said.
Experts say she won't have a hard time searching.
“For the class of 2022, there’s never been a better time to look for a job,” said Tom Veenstra of Career Source.
Veenstra says the job market both locally and nationally is hot right now for recent graduates, and there’s some numbers to prove it.
“There are two job openings for every person looking for a job locally,” he said. “So, great news for people just now graduating and wanting to get into the workforce.”
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, companies plan to hire 31.6% more new grads this year compared to last year.
Veenstra says the demand is there especially for jobs in finance, health care and education compared to this time last year during the pandemic.
“What we’ve been seeing over the past few months the car is beginning to accelerate again back up to that full speed,” he said. “We’re beyond where we were before the pandemic.”