Twenty Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) Sailors volunteered to explain their jobs in the Navy during a Pensacola-area career expo Feb. 23-24 at Pensacola State College's (PSC) Pensacola Campus.

The Sailors, all NATTC instructors teaching aviation ordnance, electrician, electronics and aircraft handling courses at the largest Navy 'A' school facility, spent two days describing their jobs to more than 3,000 Escambia and Santa Rosa County middle and high school-aged children during the Worlds of Possibilities Career Expo.

NATTC Executive Officer Cmdr. Scott Sherman said the SkillsUSA event, sponsored by PSC, the Greater Pensacola Chamber, Visit Pensacola and Gulf Power, allowed Sailors teaching aviation technical jobs the opportunity to share their experiences with the teens who one day could choose to serve in the Navy.

"Showcasing what we do at NATTC and enlightening young adults preparing to enter the workforce on the exciting career opportunities offered by the Navy is a great opportunity for the NATTC staff," Sherman said.

The Worlds of Possibilities Expo was organized by SkillsUSA, a nationally recognized program that serves as a partnership between students, teachers and industry. The expo showcased local businesses and vendors in technical career fields by engaging students of all ages with hands-on and interactive experiences.

In addition to the Navy aviation jobs demonstrated at the event, Baptist Hospital displayed gaming-style technology used to educate staff and students on cancer variations and treatments and Pensacola State College's veterinary technician program showcased exotic animals.

NATTC instructors had numerous items from the various aviation ratings taught at NATTC on display, answered questions about the equipment displayed, and shared their experiences in the Navy. Air Training Department brought firefighting suits, a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and aviation fuel training equipment. Mechanical training department brought survival vests, pilot helmets, flight suits, a backpack parachute assembly, an inert AIM-9X Sidewinder Missile training aid, and hydraulic servo cutaways. Avionics training department brought circuit schematics, electrical switches, and a multi-meter.

Chief Aviation Electrician's Mate Ryan Cazire said he felt events such as this help to strengthen the Navy's relationship with the local community and hopefully inspire young adults to consider a career in the military.

"We are part of this community, and we live and work here," Cazire said. "I take great pride in showing our neighbors what we do and explaining our jobs to someone who might wear the same uniform as me one day. Maybe we sparked some interest in someone who had never considered a career in the Navy before today."

Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT) Interactive Multimedia Instruction Manager and one of the 2016 Worlds of Possibilities organizers Lance McClure said both NATTC and CNATT involvement in the project began three years ago.

"Civilian organizations that teach aviation maintenance were participating and it seemed the Navy was missing out," he said. "Additionally, the event aligns with CNATT and NATTC as most of the skill providers represented are certified by the Council on Occupational Education (COE), which happens to be the organization that certifies CNATT and our learning sites."

For more than 70 years, the Naval Air Technical Training Center has been providing training and increasing readiness within the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE). The facility graduates approximately 15,000 Navy, Marine Corps and international students annually and is the largest training facility in the Navy post Recruit Training Command.

For more news from Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, visit www.navy.mil/.