BC COURTS ONTARIO WORKFORCE

350,000 VACANT JOBS

IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

IN NEXT 10 YEARS

This week, four WorkBC Job Fairs will give the people of southern Ontario the opportunity to meet face-to-face with more than 100 of B.C.’s top employers, who are looking to attract workers for countless jobs, announced Economic Development Minister Colin Hansen.

“With B.C.’s lifestyle, competitive tax rates, climate and surging economy, I know many of the people who attend a WorkBC Job Fair can find their dream job in British Columbia,” said Hansen. “Southern Ontario was a natural choice of location for these job fairs as it offers a high population density, new immigrants and a diversified, well-trained and educated labour force.”

From today through Feb. 29, more than 100 of B.C.’s high-profile, top employers will be represented in Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, Hamilton and Toronto in search of new employees. Employers taking part include BC Ferries, go2 (tourism human resources), the BC Construction Association, BC Hydro, WorkSafeBC, the BC Public Service Agency and many more major hotel, resort and restaurant chains, as well as the biggest health-care providers in the province.

These employers are looking for health-care workers and tradespeople, engineers and chefs, golf pros, teachers and electrical technicians, as well as managers, marine workers, housekeepers and machine operators. There are also positions for lab technicians, construction labourers, government workers and technologists and many more.

“The number of tourism and hospitality sector jobs in British Columbia is only expected to increase as we approach the 2010 Winter Games and beyond,” said Arlene Keis, go2 CEO. “The WorkBC Job Fair is a perfect opportunity to reach out to a significant number of potential workers in a market previously largely untapped by B.C. companies.”

With an estimated one million job openings in the province over the next 10 years and only 650,000 people currently in B.C.’s K-12 school system, 350,000 jobs will need to be filled by workers from outside British Columbia. Currently, the sectors most in need of workers are tourism and hospitality, retail and construction.

For more information on WorkBC Job Fairs, visit www.WorkBC.ca.