Job fair attracts huge crowd

Tillsonburg’s Job Fair+ saw increased attendance, with attendance almost double that of the last bi-annual event. There was also an increased number of potential employers at the event. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg’s Job Fair+ saw huge numbers of job seekers attend the event at the community centre last week.

About 420 people had registered for the event at 3:30, with more than an hour still to go. Attendance at the last version of the bi-annual event was 262 for the entire day.

Gail Lonsberry, employment services manager with the Tillsonburg Multi-Service Centre, said an increase in the number of vendors may have been a factor. Amongst these were Sopremo, a new factory in town, which was recruiting for a number of positions from machine operators to forklift drivers and administrative positions.

Another big attraction was peopleCare, which is opening a long-term/seniors living facility on Maple Lane and will be hiring more than 200 people.

“I think there’s been a lot of people come for that,” Lonsberry said. “We’ve had people come from out of town who were going to school in Kitchener.”

Marie Bowie, executive director of peopleCare, said they will be hiring more than 200 full-time and part-time people in the near future, prior to the facility opening in late August.

“We’ve had a fabulous turnout today,” she said.

The event featured a wide range of potential employers and employment training organizations. These ranged from the Canadian Armed Forces to A & W, and covered a multitude of potential careers, such as automotive, painters, cooks, early childhood educators, delivery drivers, construction labourers and machine operators.

When asked whether he knew of any changes in the town’s employment situation, Tillsonburg Development Commissioner Cephas Panschow answered, "My perspective is that the overall economy is soft, and we have seen a number of layoff announcements across the province, with some minor ones in the area." My sense is that it is the softness in the economy, including companies not hiring at the same pace as previously, not filling vacancies, and yes, some layoffs, that are resulting in higher unemployment and increased job seekers.”

He said the increased number of people may also be due to the job fair becoming better known.