Achi news desk-
The atmosphere inside a job fair in Halifax on Wednesday was electric as eager job seekers pushed through crowds and endured long lines at employer booths.
“We literally had 350 people in the first 20 minutes come into the service and we still had a lineup going down and around the building,” said Philip Cantrill, executive director of Job Junction Nova Scotia Works.
The job fair is a two-day event, with its first day seeing more than 2,000 people attend.
Attendees like Abishek Damodran and his friend Mohammed Saif were surprised to see so many people filling the room looking for jobs.
“We are currently looking for a part-time position. We still haven’t found a job and it’s been like four to five months that we’ve been here. We thought it might help but there is so much competition,” said Damodran.
Damodran said it has been very difficult to find a part-time job around the Halifax area and he hopes the job fair will help.
“We’ve dropped our resume in a few places and they’ve given positive responses, so we’re hoping,” he said.
More than 100 employers set up booths at the job fair.
“Things are always changing, people are always changing and so we really wanted to be connected with them and see what we can offer them and see what they can offer the masses as well,” said Roxxane Cyr, Canadian Armed Forces crew commander. Forces.
Some were also there to promote the types of jobs that exist within the industry.
“We have more than just maritime sites. We have jobs on shore. We want people to understand that we do more than just get on ships and explain what the opportunities are and how great it is to work with the Coast Guard,” said Scott Fisher of the Canadian Coast Guard.
Others also provided information about jobs that may not be on people’s radar.
“Most people think that going to Nova Scotia Health requires a lot of education. Here we offer a handful of online courses to get you started and because the need is so great, we’re actually offering an opportunity for you to be employed within Nova Scotia Health as soon as that you will be registered on this course. registered,” said Cheryl Bennet with Nova Scotia Health’s Medical Device Reprocessing Department.
Saif said he was happy to have the opportunity.
“I think it’s a very good platform to contact the employer because we don’t have the opportunity to contact the employer directly,” he said.
However, there were others who attended the event who found that the job fair had jobs that matched their qualifications.
“We came here thinking it was going to be a big job festival but we didn’t find it useful for us,” Christy Binoy and Isbel Sabal.
Binoy and Sabal said they were graduates of the management program and many of the jobs available were not suitable for them.
“It seems to be more so for the health care field so there are not many opportunities for us,” Sabal.
The next job fair is going to be in the summer term.
