Virtual job fair happening Thursday for employers & job seekers in Brockville, Prescott and Kemptville

Looking for that next job has become easier thanks to technology, with one Brockville organization adapting to hold their first virtual job fair on Thursday.

The Employment & Education Centre (EEC) would usually hold an in-person job fair every year, but for 2022 they've gone virtual.

"You can stay at the comfort of your own home, get online and speak to employers across Brockville, Prescott and Kemptville," said EEC business service manager Teanne Larocque.

"Two years ago, we would have done it in person, so this year we've partnered with vFairs, Centre for Workforce Development as well as CSE Consulting in Prescott," Larocque added.

Their first ever virtual job fair will run on Thursday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., with more than 35 employers signed up, looking to fill almost 200 jobs in a wide range of categories.

"General labourers, servers, cooks, advisors, receptionists, sales associates, lots of opportunities for everybody," Larocque added. "Individuals just log in with an email address, they create a password, then just simply log in to the platform."

The Aquatarium in downtown Brockville is one of those 35 employers registered, looking to fill more than 20 positions.

"From driving the train, which is going to be a lot of fun, front desk attendants, we are also doing tourism for the city so we have our tourism ambassadors—so, there's a number of positions, floor support and camp councillors as well," said executive director Thomas Harder.

He notes that by doing a job fair virtually, his team can connect with would-be hires immediately.

"If they have additional questions or want to know more, we will be available and can answer anything that people might want to know," he said.

Harder believes that if the virtual fair is successful, it will become the norm going forward.

"I think we've all learned that technology is great and it's another tool in our arsenal to make this work, especially with the shortage in staff we are seeing in the region as a whole," Harder said.

He encourages students to apply as well through the summer months, as the Aquatarium's mandate is to encourage curiosity in the 1000 Islands region.

"You will go home with something that is rewarding, knowing that you've educated and helped people learn a little bit more about what's going on in our region," Harder said. "There’s a fun behind it. It's not a museum; we're here to interact, we're hired to have a good time, we're here to learn and play at the same time."

Aquatarium executive director Thomas Harder showing off the 'Power of Water' exhibit. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

"I think it's a win-win for both the employers and the job seekers," added Larocque. "If they can't come to the fair in person, now they can access it in their own home.

"It’s great for students who maybe are still off in college or university. They can jump on board tomorrow if they are looking to come home and do summer employment and talk to those employers right online," she added.

Other features will be available during the fair, including live speakers and business information sessions.

The portal is already online to navigate ahead of the fair once people have registered.

Teanne Larocque showing off the virtual job fair portal. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

"Job seekers can jump on at any point just to get familiar with the platform, take a look at the employers that are on board, start preparing themselves a little bit and seeing what vacancies are out there," Larocque said.

She said the EEC has seen a slight increase of people coming in looking for employment, and more people moving to the area as well.

"But again, there is still so many jobs out there, employers are hurting and they are needing people to come back to the workforce and fill these jobs," she said. "I wouldn't say it's fully got better, it's got a little bit, but we still need many more people out in that workforce.

"We want to see people online tomorrow, looking at all the employers, looking at all the vacancies," she added. "We need many job seekers out there to fill these gaps and the shortage in our area so we hope everybody enjoys it."