SACO — There was a shift of focus at the Biddeford and Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry Business Expo this year. Part of that shift was welcoming young people into the mix.

Chamber Executive Director Craig Pendleton said at Wednesday’s event, which was held at XL Sports World, at 400 North St. in Saco, that over the years, there have been different approaches to the annual business expo.

The 11th annual expo was scheduled a little differently this time around. A morning session was only open to participants, allowing the approximately 70 participating businesses a couple of hours to interact with each other and listen to guest speakers before the event opened to the general public at noon.

Also new this year, the chamber reached out to Thornton Academy and Biddeford High School, inviting students to come and participate.

“Please interact with our students, they’re our future,” said Pendleton, as he addressed those in attendance Wednesday morning.

Pendleton said there have been many conversations within the local business community on how to keep young people in Biddeford and Saco in the area after they graduate college.

“I think one of the things we do wrong is we talk about young people going away and we make it into a big subject,” said Pendleton. “I think we need to turn the table and say that we have a lot of jobs in Biddeford-Saco, we have great careers in Biddeford-Saco, and we have all kinds of opportunities for you to stay here.”

Commissioner of Labor Jeanne Paquette, one of the invited guest speakers, said she thought it was “wonderful” to have local students interacting with representatives from local businesses. She said the state doesn’t have enough people to fill the jobs that are in demand.

Paquette addressed a group of Biddeford High School students who were present for the speakers. She told them to talk to the different businesses and pick up business cards and information about local companies.

“This is where your relationships start, right here, meeting people today,” she said.

Thornton Academy Senior Riley Flynn was helping career guidance staff Linda Roth and Linda Verville at a booth. Flynn, who plans to join the Air Force and later go into video game or web design, said he thought the event was a good opportunity to meet people and learn about the local business community. Verville noted that he could get some direction at the chamber event. She urged him to visit the University College at Saco booth, where he could learn about a program he might be interested in studying.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.