JobsFest, an initiative of the province targeted at educating teens and young adults on available career opportunities, arrived in Burns Lake last week.
Daisy Blue Groff, JobsFest tour manager said to Lakes District News that the event has received a warm welcome and a good turn out so far.
"We have been embraced and the support for the event has been unbelievable," she said.
Groff said the drawing card has been the live pop-rock band, Victoria based, Acres of Lions, as well as online tools available at the event that allow people to be matched with potential career opportunities based on their skills, education and talents.
"These online resources are easy to use and very accessible," she said.
The online resources have been developed by the government to support youth in their quest to find their perfect career, like the job trend tracker, which provides them with analytics to help them select a career with good employment prospects.
She said, "We are really happy to be in Burns Lake. This is a fantastic community and JobsFest is a positive thing for the community after the Babine Forest Products tragedy ... we are happy to be here. We have been on the road for almost two months and stopping in a friendly and welcoming community like Burns Lake makes this experience that much better."
Two giant inflatable tents that looked like amplifiers showcased the online career resources, as well as a temporary tattoo parlour where youth are able to select a removable tattoo of their chosen career as well as play Play Station games.
Local band Audio Architect took to the JobsFest stage, as well as Mayor Luke Strimbold who welcomed JobsFest to town and said it was a great opportunity for all locals.
Local resident Raymond Alec said to Lakes District News that he found JobsFest to be very helpful. “There is lots of information here,” he said.
Local Chris Morris said he was also able to find some good information at the event. “You can find out career paths and there is also information on how to get there ... what education you need and how much money you could expect to earn in that career ... this has been really useful,” he said.
Over the next decade, British Columbia is projected to have over one million job openings. The B.C. Jobs Plan will ensure that over $500 million is provided annually for labour market and training programs.
An advertisement by the province for JobsFest that featured in the Lakes District News failed to list a location for the event.
Lyndsay Easton, from B.C. Government caucus communications said, “I haven’t seen the advertisement, but I definitely agree that the address [of the JobsFest venue in Burns Lake] in the advertisement would have been helpful in getting people to attend.”
She said, “The turn out in Burns Lake was approximately 170 people. The town’s population is approximately 2,100 people, with 330 people in the 15-24 age group, so we got about half of our target demographic to attend.”
JobsFest online resources are available at www.jobfest2012.ca/resources.