Skills and Trades Sector Joins MOSAIC Job Fair(Vancouver BC) Seventeen employers from varying trades have signed on to participate in MOSAIC’s upcoming job fair on April 8- the first time this sector has been represented since the organization began hosting job fairs in 2012.Trades employers will be in an area separate from other recruiting organizations, who represent industries including health, finance, retail, food service, tech, security and policing. In total, 51 employers will be on-site.More than 1.1 million job openings will become available in BC during this decade and 43% of those positions are in the technical, paraprofessional and skilled occupations.MOSAIC, employment specialists with both the mainstream and immigrant communities, is uniquely qualified to attract and deliver quality candidates to employers. Larry Chan, Senior Manager of Employment Programs said that job postings for skills and trades are quite plentiful “If you’re a skilled trades person, if you have trade credentials, and if you’re willing to consider opportunities in other parts of BC, you are highly employable.” Chan added that there are quality local opportunities as well.Organizations looking to recruit new hires in skills and trades include Fortis BC, Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards, City of Vancouver, Home Depot, Dynamic Windows and Doors, Aramark and many more.Faith Dempster, Metro Vancouver Regional Manager for STEP (Skilled Trades Employment Program), said that job fairs are a great way to promote an organization’s name and to meet candidates who are self-motivated.Created and managed by the BC Construction Association, STEP will be on-site recruiting on behalf of construction and trades employers. Dempster offers advice to job seekers at the fair “be flexible and open to considering opportunities in trades that you may never have heard of. For example, we find that over 90% of newcomers to the trades contact us wanting to be electricians, but most don’t have an accurate idea of what it’s like to apprentice in that trade. For some reason, everyone seems to think it’s a neat, clean, less-laborious trade, which could not be further from the truth. Electricians, like most other construction tradespeople, have to work hard, carry heavy materials, work outside in the rain or heat, and get dirty. That’s what working in the trades is all about: hard work for good pay!MOSAIC’s 3rd Annual Job Fair is on Tuesday, April 8, from 10 am-4 pm at the Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive in Vancouver. The Job Fair is open to all job seekers and admission is free.MOSAIC is a non-profit organization and the primary settlement and employment services agency in Metro Vancouver assisting immigrants in Canada. MOSAIC is also lead operator for WorkBC Employment Services for Vancouver Northeast.
