Tammy Bryson has been pounding the pavement looking for full-time employment since the end of August.
“I’ve been looking and sending out resumes. I’m interested in anything really, that is out there. Just something that I can find at my age. This way you get to see what is out there and what is offered, things you can’t see online. It is helpful. It is all in one spot, so it is like one-stop shopping,” said Bryson.
She was one of 300 people looking for employment opportunities who attended a job fair at Northgate Shopping Centre.
“It gives you an idea of what they’re looking for. There are a few sites that I saw that you can look for jobs that I didn’t know before. There are a few openings I saw that I will be sending a resume out to. I feel better with what I see out here.”
The event host Nipissing Employment Services Table (NEST), is comprised of several agencies in the Nipissing District who collaborate to provide a range of supports and services to help people connect to employment.
Carol Porter is the district coordinator of the Get Trained Workers employment project that is powered by the North Bay and District Chamber of Commerce.
Classified as a mini pop up job fair, 23 employers representing a variety of job sectors were in attendance, ready to accept resumes and answer questions from job seekers.
“Because of the variety of employers today, we are seeing a lot of health-related job seekers, a lot of employers are looking hard for PSW’s, RPN’s, and nurses. Stock transportation is here, they’re struggling to get bus drivers. We have social services, the Crisis Centre, and the District of Nipissing Social Services. Everyone here has postings for real jobs right now” said Porter.
“Mature aged individuals are here. I have also seen post-secondary students coming here in groups. We have lots of full-time, lots of part-time, and contract work.”
The wages were as varied as the employment opportunities.
“If you look at the North Bay Regional Health Centre which is here today, of course, the wages will be well above minimum wage. Then you look at some of the phone centres that are here starting people off at pretty much minimum wage.”
Alexa Marko attended representing Plan A Staffing Solutions which hires RPN’s, RN’s and PSW’s for “immediate and short-term health care staffing solutions to the long-term care sector in the region.”
“The turn out was very good. Some came resume ready and applied for some of the positions, so I think there are definitely some leads. We have a huge staff pool, but that being said it is always changing with the numbers, so we are always hiring.”
Erin Murphy was in attendance on behalf of the Labour Market Group.
“We’re a community resource, so we basically provide labour market information. We provide them with a website called readysethired.ca which is a local job board for the Nipissing and Parry Sound Districts,” explained Murphy.
“I think definitely getting the word out that about the resources we provide for the job market and information about it is helpful.”
The event was organized by the Yes Employment Services, Get Trained Workers and the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board.
