Job Gym ran a Speed Leads event in both Welland and Fort Erie Wednesday, with more than 450 job postings for people to apply to.

Speed Leads gives job-seekers the chance to check out local job postings with the support and help of the employment councillors and job developers at Job Gym. Visitors look at the postings, hand in a list of jobs that they are qualified for and interested in, along with their resumes, and the team at Job Gym puts in their applications to the employers.

“I think it’s pretty good, it gives a good selection of jobs out here,” said Paul Marion, who was at the event looking for a job in skilled trades.

John Howard Society of Niagara executive director Jay Gemmell said the Speed Leads event is a good way to get people applying to the many vacant positions in the region without the time commitment employers need to make for a job fair.

“The employers have to make a pretty significant commitment to come to job fairs,” Gemmell said, “They have to take somebody off their job, they have to take them out of their workplace and they have to get material to hand out to perspective employees.”

He said that while the benefit of meeting employers in person, shaking hands and making first impressions — an experience that is had at a job fair — is lost in the Speed Leads format, it is a quicker and cleaner format to try to promote the many jobs available, especially right now.

“Especially at a time, mid-summer when there’s a lot of people looking, and a lot of employers are trying to take care of their business at a very high level,” he said.

Amanda Channon, job developer at Job Gym, said that the organization runs the Speed Leads on an as-needed basis.

“We have a surplus of opportunities that we needed to fill,” Channon said.

The job board currently has more than 400 listings, and Channon said it’s a good mix of full-time permanent positions and seasonal or part-time jobs.

“I can tell you that we do see a blend of it, and I think that when looking over the opportunities that we’re advertising in Speed Leads you’ll see both,” Channon said.

Asked about the job outlook in Niagara right now, Gemmell said he thinks there are many more jobs out there than people might think there are.

Source: Welland Tribune

Staff at Job Gym sites in Fort Erie and Welland helped job seekers by taking the work out of applying for employment.

Eighty job seekers attended the Job Gym’s Speed Leads event Wednesday in Fort Erie and more than 100 people visited the Welland site between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

“It was the first time the event was held in Fort Erie. The Speed Leads event was given a test drive in Welland last year and it had a really great response,” said Job Gym executive director Jay Gemmell.

People from all walks of life including students and seniors attended the event to find the right employment opportunity for themselves.

The goal of the event was to help streamline the process for both employeers and job hunters.

“(Speed Leads) is a relatively new idea and I don’t know if it will ever completely replace a job fair but a large number of employers are looking for people and sometimes they don’t get a lot of exposure.”

When job hunters entered through the doors of the job gym, they were given an application to fill out with questions to determine what types of jobs they are interested in.

“If they are qualified, we take their resume, scan it and apply to the jobs for them,” said employment counsellor Chris Sergnese.

Sergnese said the Fort Erie site offered 450 positions from 139 employers. All of the employment opportunities, which included jobs in trades, the food industry, manufacturing, administration, hospitality, health care, customer service and retail, were neatly displayed on boards for job seekers to search.

Gemmell encourages people who are looking for work to contact the Job Gym for assistance in writing resumes and other resources.

“Whether you’re a student or heading into retirement, the Job Gym is open,” Gemmell said.

“If you’re looking to change your situation, you can’t go wrong by just walking in the door.”

Source: Fort Erie Times