Over 600 Newcomers Connect with Employers at World Skills’ Fall Job Fair

“Finding a job for many people can be a daunting and difficult exercise. To do so as newcomer to Canada can sometimes feel almost impossible. But thanks to incredible organizations like World Skills Employment Centre, Ottawa’s newest residents can get the support they need to find employment.” – City of Ottawa Mayor, Mark Sutcliffe.

Over 600 newcomers had an opportunity to meet some of Ottawa’s leading employers at the World Skills Employment Centre’s Fall Job Fair on Tuesday, November 21 at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre.

Over 30 employers from multiple sectors in Ottawa, including the public and private sectors, banking and finance, IT, the skilled trades, hospitality, health care, engineering and other industries participated in the event and met with talented newcomers who are seeking to integrate into the Canadian labour market.

The event was officially opened by City of Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe who brought opening remarks and commended World Skills for its work in connecting newcomers to employment in Canada’s capital.

In his remarks, the mayor noted that finding employment can be a challenging journey for many new Canadians, but applauded World Skills for its work in providing targeted employment services that help newcomers kick-start their career journeys in Canada. “Finding a job for many people can be a daunting and difficult exercise. To do so as newcomer to Canada can sometimes feel almost impossible. But thanks to incredible organizations like World Skills Employment Centre, Ottawa’s newest residents can get the support they need to find employment,” the Mayor said.

James Baker, CEO of Keynote Search & Keynote Group who was the keynote speaker at the event, provided crucial insights on labour market trends as projected for 2024. While he acknowledged the labour market challenges that currently exist in Canada, he also encouraged employers and job seekers to remain optimistic as they head into 2024.“The first half of 2024 is going to be a continuation of the challenges we’re facing right now as a labour market. Canada’s economy needs new Canadians. We have an aging workforce and the only solution to our workforce challenges is new Canadians. By 24/25, the prosperity we’re going to see in our economy is dramatic. We just have to get through the next 6 months until we get to that,” Baker said.

Every year World Skills hosts its Annual Job Fair that brings employers in Ottawa together who are seeking to hire new talent with newcomer job seekrs who are eager to integrate into the Canadian labour market. This year, due to popular demand, World Skills held two Job Fairs – one in February and another in November to further connect immigrants to employment opportunities, while helping employers meet their labour market demands. Each event saw hundreds of newcomer job seekers who had the opportunity to meet employers from multiple industries in-person and connect with their teams.

The next Job Fair will be announced in 2024. For more information on our programs and services, email us at ws@ottawa-worldskills.org or call (613) 233-0453.

Here are some scenes from the recently held World Skills Fall Job Fair.