An economic decline resulted in a record number of job seekers at the Career and Employment Expo in Okotoks.
The expo, held by McBride Career Group in partnership with the Town of Okotoks, has been running for seven years.
With 31 stalls in total, visitors were able to get information from four educational institutions and eight community agencies, as well as apply for employment with 19 local businesses.
From McDonald’s to Cargill, the Town of Okotoks, the RCMP, the Navy and local golf courses, attendees had a number of options to consider.
It was a welcome sight for 20-year-old Taylor McNeill, who suddenly found himself looking for a job at the end of January.
“I got laid off about a month ago, so I need to find some work,” said McNeill. “There’s not much out there right now though. A lot of people are out of work and taking what they can get.”
McNeill had been working for CT Energy in Okotoks, but with the oil slump the innovative drilling company was forced to make cutbacks.
The layoff did not come as a surprise, he said, because he was the newest member of the team, building tools for the rigs.
“It was a last one in, first one out kind of situation,” said McNeill. “So now I’m just looking to see what’s out there.”
The economy has taken its toll on more than just the oil and gas industry. Its trickle-down effect has begun to force local trades to make labour cuts as well.
Ryan Harrison, who had been in oil and gas for years, found the industry slowed down a year ago and found employment with a welding company in High River. He was laid off one week before the career expo.
“It’s smaller than I thought it would be, to tell you the truth,” said Harrison after making the rounds through the Centennial Centre. “I thought there would be more industry and trades stuff here.”
He said the number of seasonal employers, like golf courses and Kayben Farms, was not surprising but he needs to look for more permanent employment.
“This is a great chance for someone to connect with those summer jobs,” he said. “Taking a job somewhere like D’Arcy Ranch, for me, might put some money in the bank but it’s never going to pay for a house and two kids, a wife, and vehicles – life. Not in this economy.”
He was grateful to find post-secondary information on-site, and said he is considering returning to school. Education is always an option, to develop new skills or improve current ones, he said.
For Bow Valley College, providing those options was the purpose of taking part in the career expo.
According to June Diment, regional lead for Bow Valley College Okotoks, while some people walk into the expo with resumes ready to find employment opportunities, others are looking for options like education.
“So much downsizing is happening, and some are looking for immediate employment,” said Diment. “But in some cases, they’re coming to the conclusion they need to retrain, perhaps in a different area.”
She said more people are applying to get into post-secondary institutions now than any other time, and demand for programs is high.
At the expo, she fielded a lot of inquiries from people looking at going back to school and wanting to know how to fit their skill sets into new career directions, she said.
“Undoubtedly there were a lot more people at the event this year, and close to half were looking at retraining,” said Diment. “It’s all very reflective of the current state of the economy.”
Local businesses were hoping to capitalize on the increased demand for jobs in the region and find a few more employees in the sea of job seekers who attended the expo.
Cargill’s human resources generalist, Jonathon Corsino, said despite having 2,000 employees the processing plant just north of High River is always hiring, and wanted to bring that message to the public.
“Whoever is interested in coming to work for Cargill is more than welcome to come and join us,” said Corsino. “Hopefully we can get some good candidates to come and work.”
He said the largest problem Cargill faces is that some people can’t handle the nature of the job – processing 4,500 heads of beef every day. Applicants are given a tour as part of the interview process to ensure they are comfortable with the job.
“What we do is basically we show them the production floor and see what it looks like, and the applicants who see the production floor, some of them say, ‘No thanks,’ but some say they’ll go ahead and try it,” said Corsino. “It’s not for everybody, but we are constantly hiring.”
With so many potential applicants walking through the doors, Corsino said he hoped they would be able to add to their team.
Lee Hodgins, of Cobs Bread, also hoped to find ideal candidates for open positions at the bakery, including the 1 a.m. baking shift.
He said the position is a difficult one to fill, but the number of people turning in resumes was promising.
“So far we’ve seen a few good resumes,” said Hodgins. “It’s been steady, much busier than the one we did last year. You can see the turn in the economy here, definitely.”
