The turnout at a Red Deer career fair was a positive sign that the economy is rebounding after the COVID-19 pandemic, says a representative from Career Fair Canada.
More than 20 exhibitors looked for future employees during Career Fair Canada’s first-ever Red Deer event inside Westerner Park’s Harvest on Wednesday.
“Aside from COVID we’ve been hosting career fairs for a number of years,” said Dan Walker, a distribution manager in Calgary with Career Fair Canada.
“Red Deer’s a good place to be – there are a lot people in Red Deer looking for work and there are a lot of people who want to find employees.”
Career Fair Canada has been connecting job fair exhibitors with potential employment candidates since 2014. The organization now hosts job fairs across the country, including events in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba.
“We’ve just been growing ever since we started,” said Walker, who was greeting attendees at the door on Wednesday.
Walker said he expects the career fair to return to Red Deer in the future.
“There are still a lot of people looking for jobs, or even schools for that matter,” he said.
“One thing I’m finding here in Red Deer is there are a large immigrant population and they’re coming through the fair too. It works out well for both the exhibitors as well as the people coming out. We’re pleased with the turnout.
“Hopefully we can grow if we can grow it so we can get even more people.”
There were 24 exhibitors at the Red Deer fair, including three different police forces, Corrections Canada, Canada Post and CN Rail.
“Hopefully when we come here next time there are even more exhibitors,” said Walker.
“We try to run the full gamut of (employers), but it’s really up to the exhibitors and whether they want to come or not.”
The number of people coming through the doors was “nice and steady,” Walker added.
“One of the things that has happened to us in cities like Calgary and Edmonton is we get hit big time. Before we even open the doors at 10 a.m., we’ve got lineups of hundreds of people,” he said.
“Today’s been great. It’s been steady for everybody. They’re not having to wait 15 or 20 minutes just to get into the show. They’re coming right in and hopefully finding what they’re looking for.”
For more information on Career Fair Canada, visit www.careerfaircanada.ca.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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