In 2011, the Province of British Columbia unveiled its Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan program to create long-term jobs and investment and strengthen the province’s economy. As part of the program, Pace Group organized and executed 47 Job fairs/trade shows in 43 BC communities from July 2012 to March 2013.
The Job Fairs helped connect job seekers face-to-face with potential employers and organizations from a wide range of industry sectors including forestry, natural gas, agrifoods, construction, technology, transportation and tourism. Representatives from large educational institutions, industry associations and health authorities provided a wealth of career development and training information and guidance.
At each Job Fair, an interactive ‘BC Jobs Start Here’ exhibit provided information about skills training, employment services, job banks and career development tools. Tour staff representatives also helped visitors explore BC-wide job postings and career training information available through WorkBC.ca, and highlighted the wealth of information available on the BCJobsplan.ca website.
In addition to working closely with the staff of the Job Fair venues, Pace Group also worked closely with the executives and staff and on-site personnel of 477 exhibitor companies, educational institutions, industry associations and health authorities.
Free to both exhibitors and the public, the Job Fairs saw a total of 133,481 people attend. With overwhelmingly positive public and corporate feedback, participating organizations and employers found the job fairs to be highly relevant, informative, and of economic benefit to their communities.