The annual Career Expo and Employment Fair at Okanagan College, brought together over 100 businesses and thousands of students eager to enter the workforce.
The event was held Wednesday afternoon at the Kelowna campus, as an opportunity for students and community members to network and job hunt.
“I feel like this is really helpful to make good connections between student and the business,” said first year Okanagan College Student Sana Mwakat.
“I think it is very important to see all the potential options and career paths that you might not see online or think about it. If you are here, you can interact with them and see if you would fit their culture,” said Okanagan College Student Brennan Bates.
“I think the main thing is, with finishing my school here at the end of April, is king of seeing what is out there and all the opportunities. It is a great opportunity to see all the different employers and routes I can take,” said Okanagan College Student Taylor Werry.
“I think it is very important to see all the potential options and career paths that you might not see online or think about but if you are here you can interact with them and see if you would fit their culture.”
According to organizers, things are steady on the job front and certain fields have several opportunities available for Students.
“I think generally, the market is pretty balanced,” said Okanagan College Careers Hub coordinator Suzzette Byfield. “There are jobs out there and people are looking for positions and engaging with people and I think that it is a good time for anybody looking for a job to come on down and find out more about what is out there and what is a good fit for them based on their career and where they are headed.”
Byfield estimates that 109 employers were featured in Wednesday’s event.
Businesses from every industry including those from neighbouring communities, like the City of Penticton, and even some from outside of B.C., took part in the fair.
“We have YukonU here from the Yukon,” said Byfield. “They said they have actually employed persons from these events, so we have established a relationship with them.”
However, not all the jobs that were being offered were from out of town.
D.E. Pilling & Associates, a Kelowna based engineering company, was in attendance and looking to fill a number of local positions.
“We have three positions posted right now,” said D.E. Pilling & Associates president David Mori. “This summer we will be taking two co-op positions for four and eight months and then we are looking for full time graduates as well.”
According to D.E. Pilling & Associates, there is not a lot of engineering students enrolled at Okanagan College this year compared to years prior.
The fair was also an opportunity for businesses to network and connect with future students looking for a program and career path.
“There are a lot of people who don’t know the companies that are in the area, in town, so this a great opportunity for them to meet us and for us to show them what we do and to build connections,” said Cody Reveen, who is with D.E. Pilling & Associates.
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