the OTI's Linda Last. (Darren Brown, OBJ)

Job boom or not, it's still famine rather than feast for many jobseekers

Senior, experienced high tech workers were in demand last week at one of Ottawa's largest job fairs.

But while tech companies bemoan the hot economy and a federal government seemingly on a hiring spree, more skilled workers than ever continue to turn up at employment centres like the Ottawa Talent Initiative (OTI), officials there said.

Once the domain of high schools and universities, job fairs have increasingly become a means to fill employee vacancies in a tightened labour market. Some employers are relying on job fairs as a way of filling out their rosters as the pool of qualified and skilled workers continues to shrink.

"The economy's booming, for starters," said Ryan Nolan, a recruiter for Waterloo's Research in Motion, by way of explanation. "Most companies want to grow, but they don't have the resources."

RIM and 34 other companies, many in the tech sector, rented booths at the National Career Event job fair last Tuesday. RIM was looking for workers for both its Ottawa and Waterloo offices.

Many executives see job fairs as a big investment with little return, better suited to hiring many people with similar skills, such as manufacturing or call centre workers. But last week's fair featured companies that saw few other options as they compete for an ever-decreasing pool of talent. Exhibitors were offering about 500 different jobs in total, many in experienced and very technical positions, and the fair recorded about 2,000 job-seekers.

"Everyone has a job," said Michelle, a corporate recruiter for Gatineau's Cactus Commerce, who declined to give her last name. Cactus, which was looking to fill a number of senior positions in software development and other areas, found that hiring has become more difficult over the past couple of years.

"It's a combination of (fuller employment), and the fact that . . . I think the government is hiring people away as well."

"From a recruiting perspective, I might be in the right business, or I might be in for the biggest war of my life – the war for talent," said RIM's Mr. Nolan. "Stay tuned, I think it's just going to get worse."

Tech recruiters are increasingly looking to score a skilled, experienced, already working employee for themselves at such fairs, in the hopes of plugging a few holes.

Susanne Bourgon, a recruitment counsellor with Montreal-based engineering company BBA, said her 375-person firm needed experienced project managers, team leaders and electrical and civil engineers, and came to the fair to find them.

"This year, we did (12 to 15) career fairs at universities," she said. But with all of BBA's junior positions filled, she said, the firm needed more experienced help.

"You find a (perfect fit) every once in a while," Ms. Bourgon said of career fairs.

But not all the old salts are finding work. Linda Last, an operations officer with OTI, a non-profit group which connects employers with high tech employees, also had a booth at the fair. She said at least 300 workers signed up at her table in this one day alone, some from Alcatel-Lucent and Nortel, both of which went through recent upheavals.

Additionally, OTI records between 600 and 800 newly unemployed people registering month by month, she said, job fair or not.

"I find that's a high number of new people," said Ms. Last. "We see that it's running in parallel: even though there is a great job market out there, there are still a lot of unemployed.

"Certainly, the market has improved, but we are seeing more people this year," she said, adding the workers who register with OTI straddle the age and skills spectrum.

How can so many workers require OTI's services in the middle of what's generally acknowledged as being an employment "boom?" The answer: outsourcing and contracting out, said Ms. Last, as well as more discriminating employers.

"Last boom, anyone in technology was getting a job," she said. "We're not seeing that now. There are more jobs now than in the last boom, but those doing the hiring (are) taking their time. We certainly saw that at the job fair."

"We only work with Microsoft technology," explained Cactus's Michelle, and that excludes the unemployed telecom workers in town.

"We're the only phone manufacturer in the country," explained RIM's Mr. Nolan, and that takes a unique type of employee.

But on the other hand, not all the jobs are in town, and sometimes it's hard to lure workers to leave.

"People don't want to leave Ottawa," said Mr. Nolan. "It seems the industry's coming back."

Enough so, in fact, that Ontario's provincial government felt it was time to pull back its funding of OTI.

Its three remaining staff will find themselves out of work when it closes its doors Dec. 31, provided eleventh-hour discussions with provincial officials don't result in a change of heart and additional funds.

Before that date, however, Ms. Last said her group will continue to help unemployed tech workers tailor more resumes and strengthen more skills, job boom or not.

"When we tell them that the market is very good, their jaws drop," she said. "'Well, what's wrong with me?' they ask. They're so qualified, professional, intelligent.

"People are using this centre. They feel there's some valuable programs. I'm really hopeful there will be a continuation of this service."