Local youth will have a special opportunity to gain valuable interview skills and possible employment at the Airdrie Youth Job Fair March 14, presented by Rocky View and Wheatland Employment Services (RVWES) in partnership with the Airdrie Boys and Girls Club.
Abigail Gonzalez, program manager for RVWES, said the event connects local youth with local employers.
“[For] a lot of youth, that’s how they find their summer employment,” she said. “We’re expecting a lot of youth this year.”
The Airdrie Youth Job Fair has been put on by RVWES each year since 2015, Gonzalez said. The job fair is geared towards 15- to 24-year-olds, but Gonzalez said very few young adults typically attend the job fair, which is mostly attended by high-school students.
“Especially with minimum wage going up a little bit, they are having a little bit of a harder time connecting with employers,” she said. “We always find that it’s a really good event for employers, because they get to meet the youth face to face – it’s not just a piece of paper.”
Jennifer Dost, workforce advisor with RVWES, said 10 employers were lined up for the event as of March 5, including McDonald's, Boston Pizza and London Drugs.
“It’s such a great opportunity because employers know it’s going to be for youth,” she said. “They come prepared to hire youth.”
Gonzalez added local employers are drawn back to the fair because of the quality of candidates they meet.
“They feel like the youth that attend these events are really ready – they’re actually really looking for a job,” she said.
For the youth, Gonzalez said it provides them a crash course in the job-seeking process. For those applying for their first job, anxiety is common, she said. The job fair can reduce pressure for high-school students by providing resources, such as career advisors, and offering an arena for prospective first-time employees to meet employers.
“They have to shake the hand and chat with the employer for five minutes, 10 minutes,” she said.
A team of career advisors will be at the fair, Gonzalez said, to help with interview skills and resume writing, which can be especially tricky for students that have not been previously employed.
“Our career advisors are there to sometimes highlight other skills that are not necessarily an employment history, because they might have not had a job – if they were volunteering or in a summer camp and all of those other sets of skills that are not always thought of when you’re building your resume,” Gonzalez said.
Dost added the job fair can help young people who may lack confidence or feel discouraged about their employment prospects because of a lack of job experience. The event puts youth on a level playing field, she said, and even if they don’t get hired, the fair is great practice for future job interview.
The Airdrie Youth Job Fair will take place at the Airdrie Boys and Girls Club centre at 200 East Lake Crescent from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on March 14.
