The Government of Saskatchewan hosted a career fair for newcomers to the Land of the Living Skies.
Around 90 employers, agencies and chambers of commerce were on hand to provide information about employment opportunities across the province.
Representatives from the agriculture, construction, health, hospitality, industrial manufacturing, mining, retail, tech and transportation industries are expected to participate.
Robyn Watson, the employment coordinator with the Moose Jaw Multicultural Council and Newcomer Welcome Centre, said the newcomers they talked to were enthusiastic about starting a new chapter.
“They are a little bit uncertain, but the thing is they want to be contributing individuals, and they have landed here, and they are full of gratitude and want to be part of the community,” she said. “They want to give back because they have so much knowledge and education, and they want to be able to just make this there more.”
Jeff DeDekker, the director of communications with the Regina and District Chamber of Commerce, said they saw a wide variety of job seekers at the fair.
“It is an unqualified success,” he stated. “Lots of people are here in attendance. All the ones that we’ve talked to here in at our booth were really excited about the opportunity that this job fair gave them, and I’m sure that this is something SaskJobs can do again because it’s beneficial to the people that are targeting.”
The fair also featured cities recruiting, with Estevan charting a bus to take newcomers on a tour of the City.
Rick Sadick, the economic development and coal transition coordinator with the City of Estevan, said it is a chance to show off ‘The Energy City’ and its opportunities.
“There is a lot of new people coming here, and we’d like to see some of these folks living in our City, and we have a lot to offer.
While Estevan is looking to attract, Yorkton has already done so.
CV Sastry, the director of Yorkton’s Chamber of Commerce, said they have families moving to the City this week.
“I was speaking with a lot of people,” he stated. “A couple of them are moving this Friday, and I am pretty happy to welcome new people to Yorkton.”
He said due to the City’s big Ukrainian heritage and influence, they have noticed newcomers heading their way.
“It does seem like Yorkton, with this huge population (of Ukrainian), there is a great spot for new immigrants.”
