Since graduating from Concordia University last year, Melany Thiagarajah has been struggling to enter the job market.
“For one year, I was on my bed like ‘oh am I gonna get hired?’,” said Thiagarajah. “I need to help my parents pay the bills. It’s very hard.”
The past decade has not been an easy time for anyone seeking employment.
But a local MP promised to try to change this; at least within his community.
“This is our first job fair,” said Anthony Housefather, MP for the Mount Royal riding. “I think this is the first time an MP, locally, has done a job fair. And hopefully other people will follow.”
Dozens of employers from both the public and private sectors were on site at Lavoie elementary school in Côte-des-Neiges to engage with potential employees and discuss different opportunities.
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The event also hosted a curriculum vitae workshop where professionals met with job hunters one-on-one, providing tips on how to improve their resumes.
For Housefather, this job fair is an attempt to answer a desperate plea for help from his constituents.
“During the last election campaign, when I was doing door-to-door, jobs was the number one issue that came up, particularly from people in the English-speaking visible minority communities that felt that they had more difficulty on the job market because they were discriminated against based on race, last name,” Housefather said.
Côte-des-Neiges is home to many newcomers to the province, many of whom struggle to find employment on arrival. This is a key demographic that the job fair seeked to help.
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“I’m a person of colour,” Thiagarajah said. “And to know that I can have an opportunity to get jobs in these different companies, it’s a great thing.”
As one employment specialist pointed out, the effects of this job fair may last well beyond this day.
“Not only will it potentially open doors for them to the companies that are here, but I think it also gives them a sense of power and a sense of confidence so that when they leave the room today, they can continue the networking,” said Cathy Grundman of Agence Ometz, an employment and social service agency.
“For some people it’s rough and this is a very good setup to put them in the right direction,” said Leonard Kaporovsky, a welder by trade who attended the job fair looking for a career change.
After the success of this year’s event, organizers hope to make it a yearly occurrence.