Caleb Tuaiti, a Grade 11 student from Salmon Arm, isn鈥檛 sure where his career path will take him yet, but said it was comforting to have companies reach out to younger audiences at the first Black Press Extreme Education & Career Fair.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really helpful because I鈥檝e been all over the place (in my career path),鈥� he said, as his interests lie with cooking, the Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP.

鈥淚t was nice being able to talk to someone that was in it already,鈥� said Tuaiti. 鈥淏asically they laid out the platforms and listed certain recommendations and said 鈥榶ea, we can train you. You can have no experience.鈥欌��

The career fair was held Thursday, Sept. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the 91大黄鸭 Curling Rink and was well received by the 60 vendors and more than 3,500 participants.

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Uki Khatri recently graduated from the Aerospace Aircraft Maintenance Engineering program at Okanagan College in Dawson Creek.

He saw 91大黄鸭 flight craft was hiring, so he brought his resume to the fair.

鈥淚 have an interview either today or tomorrow so I鈥檓 really glad I came,鈥� he said.

Sophie Bidgood recently moved to 91大黄鸭 from Vancouver with her family and came to the career fair in search of work.

Working previously as an executive assistant, and after reading about the career fair through WorkBC she hoped to get a job with Okanagan College, Interior Health, or somewhere similar.

鈥淚鈥檓 pretty interested in the health care鈥� but I鈥檓 open to any company really. The beauty of being an executive assistant is you can work anywhere,鈥� she said.

Speaking with vendors, Black Press reporters asked why the vendors chose to showcase their jobs at the career fair and what types of jobs they offer.

Karen Hill, publisher for the 91大黄鸭 Capital News, said it gives the organization the opportunity to speak with a large number of people in a single day, so it makes it easier to find potential employees.

She added people are 鈥減leasantly surprised鈥� to find there鈥檚 a variety of careers available at the newspaper, including in the creative side and in sales.

A list of paper routes were also on display along with various career opportunities with Black Press.

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Const. Erika Dirsus with the RCMP said the RCMP is hiring 1,200 individuals a year over the next three to five years so they wanted to spread the news and offer information about the job opportunities.

The RCMP had flyers and offered advice with civilian careers.

Dave Boyle, with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said the fair was a great opportunity to allow the public to ask questions about what the government organization does as well as questions they may have about fishing. 鈥淚t鈥檚 being accessible to the public,鈥� he said.

Tristan Readman, with the Canadian Coast Guard, said he鈥檚 been involved with the Coast Guard for 22 years. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been a fantastic employer,鈥� he said, adding he wanted to share the knowledge at the career fair.

鈥淭here鈥檚 more than just ship positions, which is what people don鈥檛 understand鈥� we maintain all the equipment on the ship so we have carpenters, electricians, electronics, administrative staff,鈥� said Readman.

Andrea Boyes, with Royal Roads University, said the university has a booth at career fairs because 鈥渁 lot of people are looking to advance their education and find programs who are working full-time, who can do the courses primarily online.鈥� The university is based out of Victoria and Boyes said the booth has been well received.

Patrick Tracy, with Discovery College, said the college wanted to see where the interest would be in 91大黄鸭. 鈥淲e know that people will travel if they believe in the education facility or program,鈥� he said. They鈥檝e received a lot of feedback and inquiries about the college and did accept resumes during the fair, he said.

Neha Bains, recruiting team lead for Ledcor, said the company has seen lots of interest in the construction side, and are hiring for various positions in the telecommunications divisions, searching for sales representatives. Previous experience is not required, she said.

Candace Gottschalk, vice president with human resources for Lordco, said the career fair was a great opportunity to reach out to the local community. Lordco was accepting applications for every type of position at the career fair, including 鈥渄rivers, warehouse, cashiers and sales representatives,鈥� and more.

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Julie Dong, manager of the 91大黄鸭 ICBC licensing office, said ICBC is a great company always looking for recruits. 鈥淲e basically are always looking for temporary employees,鈥� she said. The main thing, she said, is people are coming to the fair and asking questions.

Officer Barkman, with BC Corrections, set up a venue at the fair to spread information about the process of hiring and providing the public with information on what they do.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had all ages groups, some male, some female and some students, we鈥檝e had great resources.鈥�

The organization is currently recruiting for officers in B.C.