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Sidney Employment Expo returns with focus on inclusivity and accessibility

The event hopes to build on the success of last year and help businesses recover from pandemic
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The Sidney BIA’s Sidney Employment Expo is returning for its second year on March 2 to help businesses recover from the pandemic, this year with an extra focus on inclusivity and accessibility. (Courtesy of Janis Jean Photography)

Job seekers will have a chance to hand out resumes and even interview on the spot with more than 40 employers in a wide range of industries in Sidney in the near future.

The Sidney Business Improvement Area Society is hosting the Sidney Employment Expo in partnership with Beacon Community Services March 2 at the Mary Winspear Centre, and prospective employees from across the region are welcome to attend.

The expo aims to build on the success of the inaugural event held last year, which was organized as a way to help businesses in the community recover from the impacts of the pandemic and saw more than 200 job applicants attend.

Business development manager Natalie Bobrowich said that as successful as last year’s event was, and despite how resilient the local business community has proven to be, the need for more workers remains pressing amongst their membership.

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“The people who run businesses in Sidney form a great community and never hesitate to help each other out. There is lots of innovation, and there is a really great support network from the local people,” said Bobrowich.

“Coming out of COVID, people are finding it hard to recover though because they just don’t have the employees they need. Lots of owners have had to work the till and then don’t have time to do the admin work they must do, while some businesses have had to limit opening hours. The number one thing I have heard from local businesses is that they would like support with employee attraction.”

This year’s expo aims to further increase the potential pool of job applicants which will be passing by the booths at the expo by focusing plenty of attention on accessibility and inclusion, both for potential job applicants and for participating employers.

Bobrowich said the partnership with Beacon Community Services has allowed the expo to offer accessible transportation to the Mary Winspear Centre by request, and training sessions are being held in the lead-up to the expo with its participating employers to help them learn how to be more inclusive in their workplaces and with their hiring practices.

”It’s just the right thing to do, but also it can be so beneficial in many ways by opening up their pool of applicants to increase the chances they find someone who is the perfect fit,” she said.

“Surveys show that 86 per cent of employees surveyed find inclusion in the work place really important to create a great workplace culture and reputation for the business. There are just lots of benefits beyond it just being the right thing to do.”

The expo is scheduled to run from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 2 at the Mary Winspear Centre. Those attending and looking for a job are encouraged to bring multiple copies of their resume and be prepared for on the spot job interviews.

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@JSamanski
justin.samanski-langille@goldstreamgazette.com

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