The City of Moncton began hosting job fairs in 2015, in partnership with the provincial government as a part of its immigration strategy.
Immigration Strategy Officer Angelique Reddy-Kalala says the job fairs are held every three months and they follow up with the employers afterwards to find out how many positions have been filled, “We do follow up after the job fairs to track how many hires and how many positions filled as a direct result. We’ve had about 300 positions filled to date. We’re on track this year to fill at least 100 positions, and that’s just the ones that the employers report back to us on, recognizing that for some employers it is all online for them, and sometimes it’s harder for them to track.”
Over 600 job seekers attended a newcomer job fair held on Friday, with 41 employers.
Virtual fairs are also now offered.
“We are also always collecting employers feedback on how we can improve.” Reddy-Kalala says.
The job fairs are open to everyone. But these ones focus on newcomers and international students because, while there are many job fairs held at universities, colleges and companies that are targeted to all residents, newcomers and international students may have additional barriers to finding a job, Reddy-Kalala said.
Newcomers and international students generally don’t have networks in Moncton, their degrees and experience from abroad might not be recognized in Canada, and some may have language barriers.
Reddy-Kalala said conversations with employers highlighted their need for talent, while discussions with settlement agencies shone a light on newcomers who had difficulty finding employment.
“The whole purpose of the fairs is as soon as newcomers and international students arrive in our region, we want to connect them with jobs,” she said.
(With files from Reporter Inda Indiar from Huddle Today, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner)
