(Prince Albert Career Centre/Facebook)

By Ian Gustafson

Back to work

As economy opens, career centre helps locals return to work

May 26, 2020 | 4:50 PM

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many challenges for the public, some even losing their jobs temporarily or permanently.

The Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) Prince Albert Career Centre is helping residents update their resume and offer job search assistance for those who need it with the economy opening back up in the province.

Case management consultant and former acting manager of the Prince Albert Career Centre, Debbie Andrade said she and her coworkers are busy. Job coaches have been working from home helping job seekers.

The location is funded by Immigration and Career Training and there are nine Career Centre locations across the province.

She said people who need help can call them and get assistance to be labour ready for the skilled workforce.

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“[We’ve] started using the Facebook page to promote because we can’t physically see people, so we get them to call in and our phones are transferred to receive the call,” she said.

She said business remains steady. At the beginning of the pandemic, many were scared to job search because of the recommendations to stay home.

“Employers were affected too because a lot them had to shutdown and were trying to keep their existing workers,” she said.

She said there have been some barriers because most people like getting help face to face and a lot of people do not have cellphones or access to internet. She said they have tried to use all mediums for outreach including social media.

Students who are entering the workforce are also struggling to find a job and she said they’ve organized Zoom calls with employers to help them out.

“We’re able to do employer presentations to classrooms to connect the students with employers because they’re going to be looking for work right away,” Andrade said.

The staff at the Prince Albert Centre are able offer job coaching, interview skills, employer presentations, referrals to post-secondary training and employers looking to hire.

She explained many people are both returning to employers and seeking new work opportunities.

From July 2019 to April 2020, Andrade said staff members helped 293 people find work. Over 900 people registered with the service.

She added March and April is when they’re usually the busiest, but COVID-19 has slowed the economy down.

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow