Conestoga news

December 16, 2013 11:14 AM

Virtual Job Fair connects students and employers

Conestoga and the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin recently collaborated to provide a virtual job fair to support job-seekers and employers in search of talent across the local community.

Today’s Portal for Tomorrow’s Job, held from November 18 - 22, took place entirely online and provided area job-seekers with opportunities to impress employers with their skills, talent and ability to connect.

According to Lisa Wright, employer liaison at Conestoga’s Career Centre, the event was a great success, attracting more than 1000 attendees and 17 employer participants across the Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Health Care and IT sectors.

The virtual job fair allowed job seekers to explore employment positions and interact with hiring managers from such companies as Toyota, Bayshore and Cambridge Memorial Hospital. As well as exploring current opportunities, job seekers could create profiles, post resumes, and even participate in informational interviews with potential employers.

From Wright’s perspective, the virtual approach to job fairs has benefits for both employers and job-seekers, providing access and convenience for all participants that can’t be matched with traditional, in-person job fairs.

Based on the success of this initial effort, the project partners are currently considering a second virtual job fair for this spring, when students nearing graduation are seeking opportunities to launch their post-college careers.

For more information, visit the Career Centre website.