Thousands of job seekers attend 19th Annual Youth Hiring Fair
Calgary’s young job seekers once again came out in large numbers this afternoon as part of The City of Calgary’s 19th Annual Youth Hiring Fair. Held at the Big Four Building at Stampede Park, an estimated 3,000 youth were lined up in advance of the 1:30 p.m. start time.
The Annual Youth Hiring Fair is Calgary’s only hiring fair exclusively for youth 15-24. The event features 80 employers from a variety of industries including recreation, customer service, hospitality and financial services.
“In this economy, job seekers are looking for any edge they can get,” said Jennifer MacSween, community relations liaison with The City’s Youth Employment Centre. “Leading up to the Fair, we had hundreds of youth visiting our Youth Employment Centre for free resume assistance, interview preparation and career planning.”
One of the first individuals to enter the Fair was 21 year-old Eric Peltier from Sundance.
"I'm a third year electrician and I've been on the job hunt for a couple of months now. I haven't gotten any bites yet. Thought this would be a good opportunity to make some connections and get my resume out there."
For employers, the Youth Hiring Fair provides an opportunity for them to meet a variety of qualified candidates in a just a few short hours.
“The Youth Employment Fair brings in thousands of youth ready, wanting and willing to work,” said Pearl Hystad, human resources and training manager at Tim Hortons Reid Management. “The energetic atmosphere brings an excitement you won't find at any other employment fair.''
The Annual Youth Hiring Fair is an initiative of The City of Calgary’s Youth Employment Centre. The Youth Employment Centre is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and provides a variety of free career planning and employment services including employment counseling, networking assistance, resume assistance, interview preparation and industry training.
The Youth Hiring Fair runs until 6 p.m. today, but Youth Employment Center services and job opportunities are available year-round. For more information, including a list of companies participating in the fair, please visit www.youthemploymentcentre.ca.
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