"Hopefully this is the one," said Peter.
Peter was one of 600 people, resumes in hand, who attended a job fair Thursday at the Ontario Northland facility on McIntyre Street East. The job fair created a pool of potential employees to choose from for ONR recruiters seeking to hire 60 skilled labourers for their Remanufacturing and Repair division. Applications will be accepted until July 18 for those who were unable to attend the job fair.
Peter had applied to the ONR previously and was hopeful that this time around would provide the opportunity he was looking for. He has been down on his luck, out of work for four months. The 31-year-old was optimistic that this time his labouring and heavy machinery experience from the construction and mining fields would catch the right person's eye.
"This would mean so much to me. The cost-of-living in North Bay is kind of pricy. The apartments are pricy. Say you're on Ontario Works, a room in North Bay is anywhere from $500 to $600, that's just for a bedroom. If you're on welfare, that only leaves you with a couple hundred, that's not much," the job hopeful explained. "It's no way to live."
The local man said that his experiences with previous job searches have led him to believe that "you have to know somebody or have connections somehow. It's not because I'm lazy or anything. I always seem to find work outside of North Bay but I'd like to find a job where I can stay at home."
Last year, Josh Beaton was preparing to pack up and move outside of the city, having given up on the chances of finding work locally, when the ONR called with a job offer. Like Peter, Beaton had also lined up with the masses with dreams of securing full-time work, complete with benefits and paid vacation.
Beaton is now a metal fabricator apprentice, having worked his way up the chain, earning the seniority necessary to qualify for his apprenticeship.
"I started as a production worker for six months, then put my name in for the apprenticeship," explained Beaton. "This is the best place I've worked, by far. Eight to four, Monday to Friday, you can't beat it."
"We are looking for motivated and skilled people to join our team," stated Dennis Higgs, Vice President of Remanufacturing and Repair. "Most significantly, we are looking for over 40 Production Workers. This general labourer position is key to our manufacturing operation and a great entry position." The division is also looking for electricians, an electrical engineer, supervisors, a quality assurance inspector, a metal fabricator, a storesperson, and a painter.
