SAIT students are attending a two-day job fair that provides them with an opportunity to discuss career options with some of Canada’s biggest companies.

The bi-annual Career Direction Fair at SAIT Polytechnic has been expanded and this year more than 130 employers are taking part.

"There's lots of companies that are out here that are currently hiring or they’ll be hiring when I will be graduating so it kind of gives me confidence that, you know,  yes I can find a job in my field," said Jasmeen Kethuria, IT student.

"SAIT has an excellent record for hiring students or for having students become hired after their program has ended so the statistics comfort me for sure," said Janelle MacKenzie, Diesel Equipment Technician student.

Representatives from a variety of sectors are meeting with the students on Tuesday and Wednesday to take resumes and conduct interviews.

"This is a mutually beneficial event for both employers and students," said Tony Lam, Student Employment Advisor at SAIT Polytechnic. "Graduating students have an opportunity to meet employers and begin the process of networking, establishing contacts and applying for jobs. Also, many employers are taking résumés and conducting interviews right away to fill in-demand positions within their organizations."

“Employers want to be here and what we’ve had to do this year, which has been great, is we’ve actually expanded it to a two-day event,” said Melanie Simmons, Public Relations SAIT Polytechnic. “This is the first time that we’ve had two days and that’s simply because of demand from employers who know that SAIT graduates are what they want and they want in.”

Participation at the job fair by employers is up by about 18 percent over last November’s event and many say the fair is a barometer of economic conditions in the province.

“We actually are having a huge problem finding instrumentation technicians at this time with experience. There’s a big cry for them industry wide right through the country and it’s one of the hardest positions that we fill,” said Dave Scott from integral Energy.

“We’re looking for all the trades we can. We’re hoping that at career fairs like this we can generate guys coming out, people who want to get their trade through Propak, help us out,” said Bob Paquette from Propak Systems in Airdrie.  “Alberta, yea if you’re here and you’re looking for trades, this is the province to be in right now.”

Officials say that every industry is represented at the fair but the oil and gas industry does employ a lot of graduates with a variety of skills.

“You could go to business and go work in oil and gas. You could take a hospitality course and end up in that industry. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to end up in business or in hospitality, you’re being trained with a skill that can be applied in many different industries and that’s the beauty of what SAIT does,” said Simmons.

A pilot project was also launched this year, which focuses on employers who are interested in giving equal employment opportunities and so far several have signed on to take part in a small evening career fair aimed at aboriginal students and those with accessibility challenges.

“We’re having a mini-fair this evening that will be focused on students who have disability challenges, access challenges, aboriginal students and we have 20 employers who have signed on to participate in this pilot project to really engage with those students and we’re really, really proud to do that tonight,” said Simmons.

The next job fair is on March 17 and 18, 2015.

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