The Learning, Earning and Living CK Career Expo and Job Fair, led by the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, earned the Economic Developers Council of Ontario’s (EDCO) Workforce Development and Resident Attraction – Urban Award at the EDCO President’s Dinner and Awards Ceremony on February 8, 2024.
Municipal officials say this is the second consecutive year that the Municipality has taken home an award at EDCO.
The EDCO Awards of Excellence is an annual program that recognizes distinctive ideas and initiatives that can become future economic development best practices.
Recipients of the EDCO awards are viewed as leaders in economic development.
“Thank you to our community partners and employers who helped make the Learning, Earning and Living CK project a success to attract talent, future-proof the local workforce, and build community connections,” said Audrey Ansell, Director of Community Culture and Connections, in a press release.
“We are proud to have earned the Economic Developers Council of Ontario Workforce Development and Resident Attraction – Urban Award to further spotlight Chatham-Kent as a place to learn, earn and live.”
The Learning, Earning, LivingCK Career Expo and Job Fair project helped to showcase career pathways and attract talent to position CK for growth.
This project supported career planning and talent building to future-proof Chatham-Kent’s workforce by engaging local students (grades 7 to post-secondary), and talent attraction for existing job openings by connecting both internal and external jobseekers with employers, digitally and in-person to meet workforce demands.
The key components of the Learning, Earning, and LivingCK Career Expo and Job Fair were:
– Lead-up capacity-building workshops with employers to enhance talent attraction and retention efforts with key talent pools,
– Learning, Earning, and LivingCK talent attraction marketing campaign targeting jobseekers across Southwestern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area, and the Learning, Earning, and LivingCK Career Expo and Job Fair hosted on October 18 and 19, 2023 at the John D. Bradley Convention Center, which included hands-on learning activities to explore career pathways for in-demand jobs and growth sectors in Chatham-Kent which engaged over 2,400 students and 880 jobseekers.
“This was a tremendous opportunity for our students to learn more about post-secondary education and career opportunities that are available to them right here in our own community,” said Scott Johnson, Director of Education, St. Clair Catholic District School Board, in a tetimonial.
“My thanks to the many professionals, volunteers and members of our staff who helped to make this day happen. Well done.”
In a separate testimonial, Tania Maksymenko, Rural Employment Initiative Project Lead, Newcomer Centre of Peel, stated: “We want to express our gratitude for a wonderful bus tour experience. Our clients have enjoyed learning about CK though the newsletter, webinars, and the in-person visit. Many have said that it was one of the best job fairs they have attended. Several people shared that the tour has exceeded their expectations and their perception of small-town Canada has changed. Overall, it was a positive and joyful experience, and we will cherish our memories.”
The Learning, Earning and LivingCK Career Expo and Job Fair created a platform for businesses and educational institutions to connect with potential employees and students and contributed to the economic and workforce growth of our community.
To learn more about making Chatham-Kent home, visit the Choose Chatham-Kent section and find current job postings at ChathamKentJobs.com.
