Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The roads aren’t quite paved in gold yet!


Reading the Tuesday Daily News you might have been left with the impression that there were employers knocking down the doors seeking out employees around town.

Such was the headline of a story detailing the services available at the Career Resource Centre in the Ocean Centre. While the job board at the centre is indeed full of opportunities, it would seem with a quick glance that a good number of them have been accumulated over the last six to eight weeks, many of them clipped from the help wanted pages of the Daily News and other local papers.

Now this does indicate an upturn in the fortunes to some degree, but to make it seem like we’re having an Alberta like job surge is a bit dis-ingenious.

Most of the opportunities found on the boards of the centre can be accessed by a home computer, whether through job sites such as the Service Canada Job bank, the BC Public Service site, or such job search websites as Workopolis, Monster.ca and such.

A hidden treasure trove of secret job opportunities though the centre is not, its more like viewing a one stop wall of potential opportunities, some still valid, but more than likely more than a few of those jobs on the board today were already gone.

For those that don’t pick up the Daily News on a regular basis, visit the library or have access to a home computer and a chance to search the employment sites it’s a helpful service, but one that provides information that is found around town with little difficulty.

There were a few interesting things of note though, as the Podunkian research team did a quick tour yesterday to see what we might have been missing out there.


The folks at Canada Border Services are planning another recruiting drive for summer border agents soon, designed mainly for students looking for summer work that could lead to full time employment.

And for those that missed out on the last cattle call of potentially high paying, but on call longshore jobs, there is a note suggesting that there may be another call for applications in the New Year.

The longshore union has a list of some of the things you may be interested in brushing up on in order to find success when the siren call of the docks comes again.

There are a number of services offered through the Centre, which are detailed in the Tuesday edition of the Daily News.

But the limitless pages of jobs that the boom towns of Canada have, aren’t quite here yet... maybe one day, but not today.


Wealth of vacancies offer cheer to season's jobless
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Page one

The holidays can be an expensive time for everyone, and if some extra employment and the resulting income is what you are seeking, the Career Resource Centre (CRC) is waiting to hear from you.

On a monthly basis, the CRC and the Edge Youth Employment Centre offer a wide-range of services and workshops, and CRC manager Wendy Prystay says that there is a great deal of work available in the region at this moment in time.

"Our job boards are quite full, a lot of local organizations are still hiring and looking for good people," said Prystay.

"And our staff is always very knowledgeable about the local and regional job market and the availability of employment and training opportunities as well."

Prystay said that the latest and greatest news is that the Canada Border Services Agency will be looking for young people to hire for work during the summer, targetting post-secondary students for some rewarding and well-payed jobs that have the possibility of being turned into full-time employment.

“We’re now also starting work on our 2008 Job Fair that’s already slated for March 7, “Prystay said.

“We’re happy to know that the Canadian Armed Forces recruiting team will be here for that, and I’ve gathered they are launching a new Aboriginal People’s Program where they’ll pay for someone’s whole University education.”

Also in employment news, The Edge recently launched its new website that can be visited at http://www.theedgeyec.ca/. It is described as a valuable tool for young people in the community who want to see what opportunities are available to them locally.

“It’s a really nice, user-friendly and informative website,” said Prystay.

“We encourage any youth who are thinking about getting a job or actively seeking one to log on and see what’s available.

Staff at the CRC and The Edge offer training, workshops in job search basics, interview skills, resume and cover letter writing and computer based ‘career cruising’ demos, and welcome drop-ins at their offices located in Suite 363 in the Ocean Centre, 309 Second Avenue West.

No comments: