For second straight year, massive turnout at Calgary youth job fair
Posted Mar 28, 2017 2:01 pm.
Last Updated Mar 28, 2017 5:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
“The lineup was a bit gigantic.”
That’s the immediate feeling high schooler Marcus Fassnidge got when he arrived at the Big Four Building on the Stampede Grounds Tuesday afternoon for the City of Calgary’s Annual Youth Hiring Fair, for those aged 15-24.
But after waiting about 40 minutes to get in, he said the wait was worth it.
“A lot of it is just getting to know other people and working with them to know how I can improve what I’m doing and get myself a job, so it’s learning from that,” he said.
About 8,000 people passed through the job fair in 2016, whereas the year before it was just under 5,000.
Jennifer MacSween with the City’s Youth Employment Centre said she would expect this year’s total to be comparable to last year.
“Young people have been affected by the downturn as everybody else,” she said. “It’s more competitive for them because they’re not only competing against their peers for these maybe entry-level positions, they are now competing against more senior people as well who might have more job experience too.”
She said with that increase, it’s even more important to stand out since some employers would conduct on the spot interviews for positions.
Some of the good news with this year’s event was the addition of four more employers, although the exact number of additional jobs they’re bringing wasn’t immediately available.
However, MacSween said the thousands of positions up for grabs weren’t only limited to summer work, but also part-time and full-time depending on the employer.
Like Fassnidge, it was also the first time at the fair for Anna Olson, who actually was expecting more people.
She said she felt positive about the experience and had found some possible jobs that she was very interested in, but the stress of finding one remains.
“I think right now everyone’s a little bit pressured to find a better job,” she said. “Me and my friends, we’re all older and I moved out, so I need to make a living.”
For more information, including a list of companies participating in the fair, visit www.youthemploymentcentre.ca.
