Showcasing job opportunities for those who are retraining.

Posted on 17. Aug, 2010 by carol in News

By Jon Thompson

It’s not a job fair, it’s a a Second Career Expo.

Only weeks ago, Employment Ontario approached (the Academy for Technical Education together with)  Diane Schwartz-Williams with a proposition: Quickly organize a modified version of the Job Fair they have coordinated in the past, aiming at those who are retraining for a new career.

The result will be a seven-hour expo on Sept. 23 spread across the entire ground floor of the Best Western Lakeside Inn, targeting career employment.

It’s a different time of year,” Schwartz-Williams explained. “In the spring, you have employers looking for summer staff and so on. I’m expecting a different mix of employers because the people who are looking to hire in the fall are not an identical mix to who’s hiring in the spring.”

Her staff has approached 300 local businesses and public sector organizations, hoping organizations will be willing to showcase the many employment possibilities available within larger institutions and corporations as well as smaller enterprises.

“There’s a very strong focus on people who are focusing on their second career — maybe third or fourth career,” she said, as she, herself, has changed directions in her career a few times along the way.

Some vestiges of Job Fair will remain, such as the “Connections Corner,” which will host some 20 business and trade professionals to discuss what it takes to make it in the field and the steps to get there.

Prospective employees will be encouraged to bring resumes from noon to 7 p.m. as the first impression is the most critical when searching for work.

For more information, contact Schwartz-Williams at 467-2444.

Daily Miner & News 08/17/2010