Job fair aims to recruit 5,000 new workers

More than 200 employers from the Montreal region — and many from other parts of Quebec — will be at the Palais des congrès on Oct. 24 and 25 as they look to recruit 5,000 new workers.

There will be a focus on recruiting immigrants, particularly by employers from rural areas.

The event will also have free services intended to help new arrivals find jobs, including advice on how to improve their CVs and succeed in job interviews.

The Événement Carrières job fair, which takes place twice a year, also put a focus on immigrants during its April edition. The unemployment rate in Quebec was 5.3 per cent in September, according to Statistics Canada, below the Canadian average of 5.9 per cent.

The job fair is not the only initiative currently working to integrate immigrants into Quebec’s workforce. On Monday, three organizations that help new arrivals find jobs launched a new website, with the support of the provincial government, aimed at helping immigrants find jobs in the regions of Quebec.

Emploisenregions.ca will provide immigrants with information and services to help find jobs in more rural parts of the province.

Areas like Chaudière-Appalaches, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Estrie have unemployment rates well below the provincial average and attract far fewer immigrants than Montreal.