The Niagara Falls Review

Niagara Health hosting virtual job fair

Hospital system hopes to hire at least 50 people from Feb. 4 event

- RAY SPITERI Ray Spiteri is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Niagara Falls Review. Reach him via email: raymond.spiteri@niagaradai­lies.com

Niagara Health is hosting its first ever virtual job fair.

The hospital system is recruiting for a variety of positions at all its sites across the region on Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Those positions include registered nurses, registered practical nurses, personal support workers, occupation­al therapists, physiother­apists, speech language pathologis­ts, clerical medical administra­tion and environmen­tal services.

“Holding a virtual job fair is an innovative and effective way to maintain safety during the pandemic, while still connecting with health-care profession­als so they can learn more about employment opportunit­ies at our hospital sites,” said Tracey Giovannone, Niagara Health manager of recruitmen­t and volunteer resources.

“We are looking for healthcare profession­als to come be a part of our caring culture and work in an environmen­t that supports personal and profession­al growth. We are proud to be a top employer for Hamilton-Niagara, and we attract and retain leading health-care profession­als to work at Niagara Health.”

Giovannone said Niagara Health tends to have job fairs at least once a year, but the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in “additional needs” for the hospital system.

“We have additional beds that have opened up. We have some new units. We’re always hiring based on retirement­s and just the needs across the healthcare system.”

She said Niagara Health has “quite a few” vacancies across all units, and the goal is to hire at least 50 from the job fair.

“It’s always dependent, of course, upon the candidates and what they’re looking for, but that would be a really good goal for us — 50 and above would be great.”

Giovannone said Niagara Health currently has close to 5,000 staff, but when physicians and volunteers are included, it’s closer to 6,000.

At the virtual job fair, representa­tives from Niagara Health department­s will provide more informatio­n about career opportunit­ies at its various sites.

Giovannone said with the platform Niagara Health is using for the virtual job fair, “we have the ability to chat with people, as well as do some video calls if candidates are available and interested.”

She said the virtual format offers the opportunit­y to reach different people.

“We had an on-site job fair in October of 2019, and we had 700 people actually come through our doors, so that was far surpassing what our expectatio­n was,” said Giovannone.

“With the virtual fair, we’re hoping to see quite a few candidates, and we’ve set it up so that there are different rooms and booths that they can attend, based on their discipline and what they’re looking for at Niagara Health.”

Organizers ask people to have their resume on hand to share with the Niagara Health team.

To register for the virtual job fair, visit reg.ecareerfai­rs.com/ e/niagarahea­lth, where participan­ts can also upload their resumes.

Those interested are asked to log in on Feb. 4 any time between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

 ?? NIAGARA HEALTH ?? Niagara Health is hosting a virtual job fair on Feb. 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The hospital system is hoping to add 50 people to its staff of about 5,000, not including physicians and volunteers.
NIAGARA HEALTH Niagara Health is hosting a virtual job fair on Feb. 4, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The hospital system is hoping to add 50 people to its staff of about 5,000, not including physicians and volunteers.

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