An abundance of job options at Northern College career fair

Northern College said it hopes the Ontario government will consider funding its trade programs -- this after being left out of a $224 million funding announcement for skilled trade centres.

“With the Ring of Fire and all of the things that are happening ... our booming economy ... it is so critical," said Dr. Audrey Penner, president and chief executive officer of Northern College.

"Northern College sits somewhat uniquely in that we are the source for apprentices where that might not be true if you’re in downtown Toronto or downtown Guelph or some of the other areas," she said.

The province estimates nearly 300,000 skilled jobs are currently unfilled and Penner said Northern College will be pivotal in producing graduates with the expertise to fill the demand.

Take the career fair Northern College hosted, for example. More than 50 employers spent the day at the Timmins Campus to meet with potential workers.

“They are looking for skilled people, for business graduates, for summer students and so they’re really excited to be here because we have a large pool of students that they can access," said Nicole Gingras, development officer for Northern College.

The career fair attracted employers from across northern Ontario, including a couple looking to fill a unique position at their off-grid, fly-in fishing lodge.

"Between electrical work and plumbing to catching planes as they come on to our dock, to repairing small outboard motors to cutting grass," said Alex Zulu, owner of Expeditions North.

“We’re looking to fill some positions in the Township of Black River Matheson, specifically economic development assistant and our manager of public works," said Hongji Lei, and administrative assistant with the Township of Black-River Matheson.

"We’ve been looking to fill them for a while and we figured the exposure would help us try to find more applicants," he said.

For anyone who missed the career fair, Northern College invites employers and students to reach out any time of the year and it will help make the connections.