Loyalist grads a valuable resource

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Michael J Brethour

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EMC News -Belleville - For employers, Loyalist College is becoming a hot spot for companies seeking employees with up-to-date training in a variety of industries.

Take the local example of Quinte Health Care who was on site at last Thursday's 15th annual job fair, held at the college's cafeteria and gymnasium, seeking potential nurses to hire and support staff.

Debbie Mora, manager of the inpatient medical unit at the Belleville site and manager of the nursing transition pool, said the health care organization for the area was looking for nurses, personal support workers, medical secretaries, food service department and house keeping.

"We are a very big employer of Loyalist graduates and we always found that the program has prepared them well for the workplace. One of the things we look for, especially in nursing, is critical thinking, we have been very pleased with the Loyalist grads," she said.

Mora said several nurses had passed through the booth during the day inquiring about jobs at QHC.

"There has been all kinds of traffic, this is probably the best organized job fair we attend," she said.

There was also a strong representation from the law enforcement field, with Kingston Police, OPP, Border Security, Belleville Police and the Canadian Forces.

Belleville Police Constable Rene Aubertin, community policing liaison officer, said that though the local force was not hiring, he was on hand accepting resumes and sharing his experience with the force as well as offering advice to those hoping to apply to the force.

Aubertin, who graduated from the Loyalist program in 1997, was able to give firsthand advice to the Loyalist students as to the proper steps needed if they were interested in working with the city's force.

"I talked to some kids, from big cities and small cities, about what it is like working for the Belleville Police," he said.

He added the force is always accepting resumes, not just at job fairs, explaining that anyone interested can go online to and follow the tabs there.

Another company of note was Channel Zero, who came to the Loyalist job fair specifi-cally in the hopes of recruiting a broadcast engineering transmitter and maintenance technician.

Brian Boyle, the vice president of operations of Toronto based Channel Zero, said the company had heard about the specialty program at Loyalist that would be ideal for the

position.

"I understand the program is new, only been around a couple of years, but we have heard a few positive things already," he said.

Boyle said there were a number of interested students in the position, though not as many as he expected.

"I think perhaps a lot of the students didn't realize we were here today," he commented.

Diane Spencer, executive director, college advancement and external relations at Loyalist, said that about 81 booths were present at the annual job fair, 75 of which were employers.

"Employers from this area and beyond are present here today," commented Spencer. "Some are here with opportunities

for full-time work, but also part-time, other employers are here looking for summer help."

Spencer said the college seeks to line up potential employers that compliment the programs at the college in order to address the needs of both parties. She said some of those employers are looking for graduates or soon to be graduates of particular programs at the college.

Spencer said that relationship

is illustrated in the local community where employers have become community partners with student placements and then employing students once they graduate, so graduates of the college have become a desired resource.

"It speaks very highly of the college and the strength of the academic programs, the delivery of those programs and ultimately the quality of our graduates," she said.

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