Job fair draws 245 people

The Job Fair Plus, held on Oct. 2, attracted 245 people looking for jobs in Tillsonburg and area. A variety of employers had booths, ranging from industrial jobs to positions in the hospital, town and local restaurants. (Jeff Helsdon Photo).

Jeff Helsdon, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

There were mixed signs in indicators of the local job market.

The Tillsonburg Multi-Service Centre saw fewer people attend the Job Fair Plus held Oct. 2, than at the same event a year ago. This year’s attendance was 245, compared to 265 last year, which is a positive indicator.

“It seems things are holding steady,” said Gail Lonsberry, employment services manager with the Multi-Service Centre Employment Services. “We haven’t seen a lot of layoffs, but maybe people are holding off hiring.”

The Job Fair Plus, organized by the Multi-Service Centre, Town of Tillsonburg, London Regional Employment Services, and the provincial and federal governments, featured 28 exhibitors with booths to speak with prospective employees. A post-event exhibitor survey showed 143 applicants will be contacted for follow-up interviews.

Heather Burke, chair of the job fair, said the event wouldn’t take layoffs at CAMI into account, though. In the past, she explained anyone permanently laid off wouldn’t typically start looking until closer to when their severance pay runs out. She also pointed out that an action centre has been set up to assist with retraining and finding new jobs for displaced CAMI workers.

The situation with CAMI is similar to the closing of the Adient plant in town, where an action centre was also set up to assist employees. Most Adient employees were assisted through the action centre.

Burke did point out there was a spike in Oxford County unemployment numbers, likely due to CAMI, which occurred in April. Figures from the labour market survey show 5.9 per cent unemployment in March, 6.5 per cent in April, 6.9 per cent in May, and 7.4 per cent in June.

Although not an official employment indicator, usage of the Tillsonburg Helping Hand Food Bank speaks to the financial well-being of the town’s residents. Coordinator Samantha Hamilton reported usage is up from a year ago, with 385 households served by the food bank this September. That compares to 291 for the month last year. Of the households assisted this year, 47 have not previously used the food bank.