They came in ones and twos through the morning, teenagers and the middle-aged in jeans and sneakers, some with construction experience, some without. They came with resumes, they came with hope.
The Northplex job fair was a first of its kind in Barrhead. It allowed people to tour the plant and witness the goings-on in a normal work day.
Wearing goggles and yellow helmets, they were split into groups and taken around some of the 17 bays to watch various stages in the process of building a modular home.
They were shown a variety of machines, including those for making cabinets and trusses. They learned a bit about insulation, framing, flooring, roofing and finishing, and could ask questions about anything that interested or confused.
They could smell, see and feel the place in a far more meaningful way than watching a slickly made video or listening to a speech from a man in a suit.
They are now better positioned to answer the question we all ask before taking on a new job: Can I see myself being happy here?
Judging by some of the comments of those who toured the 160,000 square foot plant, the answer was a resounding “yes.”
“Northplex would be a very interesting place to work,” said Meagan Spitzer, who lives in Barrhead and is hoping to graduate from the University of Alberta with a human resource management degree in April. “I was very impressed with what I saw. The size of the plant surprised me. The working conditions seemed to be very good.”
The sight of workers in T-shirts in an enclosed environment on a day when snow fell periodically through the day left a big impression.
There was also plenty of space between the bays: you could conceivably play soccer there during coffee breaks. There was none of that cramped feeling you sometimes get in a factory. There wasn’t even that much noise.
The job fair or “employer connection” day stemmed from a partnership between Northplex and Alberta Works and both agreed it was a great success.
Not only a success for Northplex, but for Barrhead.
Such collaborations are to be applauded and should be repeated with other employers, for the future of the town depends on such teamwork. And who is in the team? Not just government and companies, but individuals throughout the area.
After all, every Barrhead resident and worker is a stakeholder in Barrhead Inc. – we should imagine the town as a corporation, whose dividends will be distributed during the good times.
It was interesting to note that even in this modern age of Facebook and Twitter old-fashioned methods of spreading the word about the Northplex job fair proved effective – posters, flyers, articles and ads in the paper.
Communication, it seems, also benefits from partnerships; in this case between the old and the new.
Meanwhile, the people who visited the plant on Thursday have handed in their resumes, filled out questionnaires and will be waiting for those three words that mean so much: You are hired.
They came hopeful, curious and probably with a little trepidation.
They left hopeful and probably a little wiser.
