In an 'employees' market,' companies make their pitch at mega job fair

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Hundreds of job-seekers descended on White Oaks Mall Tuesday, looking to take part in the largest job fair in the city that attracted more than 50 companies searching for talent in the teeth of a labour shortage affecting businesses across the region. Jonathan Juha talked to some of the employers at the fair about the jobs they are trying to fill and the biggest challenges they are facing to recruit workers.

Dylan Hache, district manager, Auto Parts Centre (APC)

For APC, which was participating for the first time in the job fair organized by the London Economic Development Corp. (LEDC), one of the biggest challenges when it comes to recruiting workers is having enough people applying for the jobs available, Hache said.

“We are a growing company. Our main goal is to try and get more bodies to us . . . and the biggest thing right now is trying to find people that do apply and want to come on board,” he said.

Though a company that specializes in the auto sector, the types of job postings at APC are wide-ranging and require different levels of expertise, Hache said. These include positions in information technology, warehousing and deliveries.

Being able to explain that to job-seekers is one of the reasons why APC took part in the fair, Hache said.

“We are looking to branch out and do different things to attract workers. We want to tell people what we do and how we do things and explain how people can grow and move up through the company,” he said. “So having that one-on-one conversation we do think helps us do that.”

Tuesday, the company was looking for candidates to fill five positions in London and six more in the wider region.

Laura Froggett, regional recruiter, Cintas

Across the London region, Cintas is looking to fill between 15 to 20 jobs, including drivers, sales, manufacturing and service managers.

But the pool of talent in the region seems so limited that the company is having a hard time recruiting even recent graduates for their management training programs, Froggett said.

“I would definitely say it’s been an ongoing issue, but it definitely has been something that we have found a huge hit in the London market,” she said. “The quality and quantity of talent, it’s just not out there right now.”

Froggett said the company is also having a hard time filling entry-level positions, adding in some cases not enough people are applying for the jobs.

“Even today, people are getting quite frustrated because we’re only offering full-time opportunities and they’re looking for part-time work,” she said, adding the company is looking at different ways of engaging with potential workers

“We are actually developing a talent acquisition department so we can proactively go out and source candidates . . . tap on their shoulder and actively recruit people,” she said.

Karen Rampersad, recruiter, Clinical Research Dental (CRD)

Rampersad described London’s region labour market as an “employees’ market,” which means people are more selective about the jobs they are willing to take.

That’s why, she says, for businesses like CRD, a company that distributes equipment and technology for dentistry clinics in the region, retention of talent is increasingly becoming more important.

“We find that the best people (working for us) are often referrals, so that’s one of the reasons why we’re here, to show we are a great employer,” Rampersad said

She said CRD was looking to fill about 10 jobs in areas such as marketing, account management, graphic design and warehousing. Being at the fair also allowed the company to know which candidates were serious about joining their company.

“We want to make sure that the people we’re hiring are personable, that they’re genuine, and we think that if they’ve taken the time to come here to the job fair, then they’re definitely interested in that position,” she said.

Melissa Atkinson, human resources, Timberland Equipment Ltd.

Though based in Woodstock, the lack of skilled workers across the region is one of the reasons why Timberland Equipment Ltd. decided to participate in Tuesday’s fair, Atkinson said.

“We’re trying to attract more people,” she said. “For some of the positions we have, we just need a bigger pool to get the right candidate . . . and this way I think you reach a wider variety of people rather than throwing an ad online.”

Among the positions available at the company that designs and manufactures specialized handling equipment for the construction and energy sectors, are jobs for welders, machinists and senior design engineers.

The specialized training or experience required for some of those positions can make filling the vacancies harder at times, Atkinson said.

“We are always getting new projects, so the bottom line is that we need the people, for current projects and future projects. But I think in general, everyone’s having trouble” filling vacant jobs.

Arianna Pilolli, employment specialist, Pathways Employment Help Centre

Even employment agencies such as Pathways Employment are seeing the scales tilted in favour of job seekers.

Pilolli said her agency is actively recruiting workers for a variety of industries, ranging from construction to tech companies in positions from management, administration and clerical work.

A big pool of talent the agency has been focusing on, as was the case during Tuesday’s fair, is newcomers looking to develop the right skills to enter the Canadian labour market, she said, adding workers looking for work have plenty of options to choose from.

“Right now, we have more jobs than people,” Pilolli said.