Approximately twenty years ago, Philadelphia area career service departments in institutions of higher education decided to get together to exchange ideas. This effort to communicate brought about the formation of a group called the Delaware Valley Career Planners. To this day, the group meets twice a year at various campus sites to exchange ideas and listen to experts in career related fields. Fourteen years ago, those institutions with teacher education programs created an off-shoot called the Delaware Valley Education Consortium (DVEC).

The Consortium, composed of 27 Philadelphia institutions of higher education, exists solely for the purpose of sponsoring an annual teacher job fair. The Consortium has acted as an intermediary in the teacher job search process by providing candidates the opportunity to meet employers. The DVEC sponsored its first teacher job fair on March 30, 1994. One hundred employers and 1,680 candidates participated in this first fair.

Over the years, the number of candidates has remained steady while the number of employers grows. Typically, over 200 school districts/employers and approximately 2,000 teacher candidates attend this annual event. The fair is open to both graduating students and alumni from consortium schools, as well as candidates from other schools.

The DVEC will present its next job fair on March 11th, 2008.