‘Choose your own adventure’ career expo

By Rob Vogt Local Press Writer 

Remember those books where you could choose your own adventure? If you read this page, you went off in one direction. If you read that page, you went off in a different direction. Now, Dynamic Claresholm is offering to do just that for job seekers, employers and entrepreneurs with a four-week virtual program that starts tomorrow. Dynamic Claresholm is a partnership among Claresholm Economic Development, the Claresholm and District Chamber of Commerce, and Community Futures Alberta Southwest intended to identify gaps in the local labour market and connect job seekers with potential employers. Brady Schnell, the Town of Claresholm’s economic development officer, said Dynamic Claresholm has now partnered with MCG Careers Incorporated to offer the ‘Choose Your own Adventure’ career program and expo. MCG Careers has experience hosting career expos, connecting people with training, offering training, and they even have a Claresholm-specific job board. The ‘Choose Your own Adventure’ career program and expo offers four sessions, every Thursday in February, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., culminating in a career expo on the final Thursday. They are all offered free of charge online via video conference. The first session is a Boot Camp for Entrepreneurs on Feb. 3 (tomorrow). This session, offered by Tony Walker of Community Futures, is for anyone who is looking to start their own business. It looks at what it takes to start a business, potential challenges, and answers any questions people have to provide more clarity. The second session, Feb. 10, is a Boot Camp for Employers. MCG Careers offers guidance and support on how to market their company and job opportunities through a 10 to 15-minute company spotlight to be presented at the career expo. The session will focus on developing job ads and interview questions; integrating new employees into an existing team; thinking outside the box with conventional hiring and more. The third session, Feb. 17, is a Boot Camp for Job Seekers where MCG Careers offers tips on resume writing, interview skills, cover letters, and how to navigate virtual platforms. The final session, Feb. 24, is the ‘Choose Your own Adventure’ career expo. There are two sessions – one from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the her from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. This virtual expo will bring together the employer and job seekers who have attended the boot camps to help them ‘choose their own adventure’. The full day will be broken down by industry sector, such as trades, seasonal work, administrative and so on, and employers will have 15-minute time slots to market their company and job opportunities. Schnell welcomes everyone to the workshops. “Each event has value on its own merits,” he said, adding that put together the sessions help participants make the most of the career fair. Anyone interested in registering for the ‘Choose Your own Adventure’ career program and expo can phone the town office at 403-625-3381 or visit www.dynamicclaresholm.ca