Local job seekers are invited to meet a variety of potential employers face-to-face on Friday.
The Alberni Valley Employment Centre is hosting a West Coast Job Expo on March 2 at the Best Western Tin Wis Conference Centre in Tofino.
Over 35 employers will set up booths at the free community event from 1-4 p.m. and job seekers are encouraged to bring updated resumes and dress professionally.
“We’re coming up to the hiring season,” said the employment centre’s community liaison Ursula Banke. “We’ve got so many vacancies and we’re trying to connect job seekers with employers and vice-versa to help satisfy the upcoming season.”
She added it’s important for locals to get their feet in the door before the influx of seasonal staff begins to arrive on the West Coast.
“We’re going to be hit again with the migratory workers that come across Canada,” she said. “They usually come in the spring and we want to make sure that locals get the first opportunities on job vacancies.”
She said local students should attend the event as well.
“This year, we have a unique situation where we’ve got Parks Canada, Tourism Tofino, and various other businesses that have received summer job grants, but they’re having a hard time filling them,” she said. “This would be a great opportunity to link up. We’re bringing in the students from Ucluelet Secondary School so that, hopefully, those that don’t have a job yet can tap into that opportunity. We’re just trying to keep it all local.”
She said meeting employers face-to-face at the event will offer a more personal exchange than simply dropping off, or reviewing a resume.
“Job seekers get an opportunity to have a one-stop-shop. It’s almost like a speed dating game, but it’s not dating; it’s job matching,” she said. “You get to see a lot of employers with one effort to see what’s out there.”
She added the event would not be possible without its sponsors: the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment and Training Program, Tin Wis Best Western Resort and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District.