Teamworks Career Centre partnered with the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce to host its semi-annual job fair on Tuesday, where hundreds of local jobseekers were in attendance.
Barb Wolstoncroft, Teamworks Career Centre manager, expects the fair to have a hiring success rate higher than last year’s 60 per cent.
“The goal is to get local employment for our region so that we’re able to keep people here and fill our labour market needs, instead of seeing (workers) head out of town and go somewhere else,” Wolstoncroft said.
According to Wolstoncroft, at least 600 job seekers were expected to attend Tuesday’s fair, which featured a high number of potential employers representing a wide range of local businesses.
Jobseeker Heather Lee, a first-time job fair attendee, believes meeting potential employers in person betters the odds of getting hired.
“Opportunities like (job fairs) get you to give your paper resume, in person,” Lee said.
“You get to talk to employers, see what they’re seeking, and it’s much better than being just a piece of paper flying through the internet.”
Potential employers seem to prefer the in-person experience as well, including Wayne Brown, sales manager for Good to Go Moving.
Just one hour into the fair, Brown said he already had 15 interviews scheduled, and had obtained at least 30 resumes.
“On-site and in-person interviews is the way we roll,” Brown said.
“Online just doesn’t really give us the same handshake and the face-to-face, and that’s what we prefer.”
More information about upcoming job fairs can be found on the Teamworks Career Centre website.