AERC holds first recruitment fair

On Nov. 23, the Akwesasne Employment Resource Center in conjunction with AAMB held their first ever recruitment fair at their main office in Hogansburg. The recruitment fair was a full day event from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. with ample opportunities for Akwesasronon to improve upon their interview skills and possibly acquire employment with one of two recruiters: STAR Tek and TD Canada Trust, both located in Cornwall, ON. However, not everybody who participated was explicitly looking for employment with these recruiters, many were members of the Job Finding Club using the recruitment fair as an opportunity to practice their interviewing skills.

“The objective of the day was to expand potential clients employees candidates to explore other options off reserve,” said Coleen Nolan AERC facilitator.

STAR Tek, an incoming call center has been located in Cornwall for 10 years and services both AT&T and Bell holding 700 employees. STAR Tek came to participate in the recruitment day as a way to enhance the experience of the clients at AERC and to recruit for potential employees for STAR Tek.

“I am very impressed with the center,” said Dominique Payment recruiter for STAR Tek, “they know how to prepare people and guide them without doing it for them. They let people be independent and give them the tools needed to find work.”

TD Canada Trust was also part of the recruitment day activities and it was their second time coming to Akwesasne to recruit for employees. TD Canada Trust is the second largest bank in Canada which supports over 80 million customers and has 77,000 employees.

“The day went very well,” said David Gelinas who along with Debra Daniels were recruiting for TD Canada Trust, “we met candidates, learned more about Akwesasne, and it was an opportunity to continue building a relationship that we made a year ago.”

This first recruitment fair was received very well by all participants.

“The experience made me feel relaxed,” said Kathy Jock, a job finding club member. “Job interviews can feel uptight.”

The overall feelings towards the event were that it was a pleasant experience and they hope that AERC will continue to host more recruitment fairs in the future with a variety of different employers.

photos by Mary La France