A veritable feast of career and training options are on display at the annual Tauranga Careers and Business Expo today at ASB Arena, Baypark.

The expo – in its second and final day today from 9.30am-3.30pm – is hosted by Priority One and the Rotary Club of Tauranga.

Braedon Buxton, Robyn Wichman, Zoe McClintock, Emma Dalton and Zoe Bicker demonstrate a career change is available at any age or stage of life. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

It's also the flagship launch event for Western Bay at Work, a community initiative showcasing career opportunities in the bay with two weeks of events and activities running across the region.

Priority One's strategic projects manager Greg Simmonds says Western Bay at Work provides a platform to showcase the diverse and growing range of career and training options here in the Bay of Plenty.

'For this region to prosper and grow, we need a talented, highly-skilled workforce that positions the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region as the business destination of choice for companies that produce high value products and services.

'It enables people at any stage of their careers to see the opportunities right here on their doorstep.”

Opening today, the Tauranga Careers and Business Expo features more than 80 exhibitors.

Greg says the expo presents an exciting opportunity for students, school leavers – in fact anyone at any stage in their career – to explore their training options in a highly interactive and engaging environment.

'Every year we introduce innovative new aspects and this year we're featuring two innovation hubs – a House of Science Hub and a DigiSchool IT Hub.

'At the IT hub you will be able to try gaming, coding and animation; and at the Science hub you will be able to immerse yourself in some interesting science experiments, and really get a feel for the power and potential of science.”

Tauranga Rotary's Sue Boyne says the event is truly unique.

'I believe we are the only expo that combines the career and training providers with a showcase of some of our most innovative businesses and industry sectors.

'Those attending can talk to some of our most innovative and successful businesses to gain an understanding of the key industry sectors we have in the Bay, and then they can talk to the career and training providers to identify the best learning pathways to get there.”

The Tauranga Rotary and Priority One Careers and Business Expo is free to attend – and today is the second and final day from 9.30am-3.30pm.

This year's theme for Western Bay at Work is ‘Learning for Life'. See the full calendar of events online at www.westernbayatwork.org.nz