The gymnasium, cafeteria foyer, and Macoun Lounge at Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Moose Jaw campus was packed with hundreds of students and representatives of 91 different local, provincial, national, and international employers. 

The annual Moose Jaw Campus Career Fair ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 13. The event is a vital part of the Polytechnic’s contribution to the future careers of its graduates. 

Laura Sperlie, director of strategic enrollment management at Sask Polytech, said the career fair is an exclusive opportunity for current Sask Polytech students.  

It gives them a chance to see and connect with potential future employers and doubles as a place to practice their networking skills, resume writing, and communication. They are advised to come prepared, with plenty of resources available to help them be as ready as possible. 

“Our career fair is organizer by our Student Employment Services team with the intention of supporting our students and being proactive in connecting with our potential employers, and just learning more about career options that might be available to them,” Sperlie explained. 

“We have over 90 vendors in attendance here today, and they represent industries from mining to agriculture, municipalities, business, construction. So, we have potential employers here today for all of our programs offered here in Moose Jaw.” 

Sperlie noted the event is also a valuable ongoing source of feedback — from students and employers together — that affects program development and industry relationships. 

“We are hoping to attract students here today,” said Jodie Jones at the PCL Contruction booth. “We have a big co-op program at PCL and from that we kind of generate our full-time employees. 

“Currently, we have Sask Polytech students in our Saskatoon office who are doing great, and we hope to just keep attracting them, especially to our ICT program. We are especially looking for civil and ICT, and also accounting, finance, and procurement.” 

Dara Ontiveros is taking a graduate diploma in supply chain management at Sask Polytech. She came to the career fair with a focused eye on finding employers whose goals and values fit with her own. 

“I want to see what companies there are here in Saskatchewan. What job opportunities do they have? What are their goals? And talking about sustainability and innovation, just to see if I fit with them, and also just to network,” Ontiveros explained. 

“I did research before I came, and I’m currently doing the research again, because now I'm looking at companies I didn’t know before and going on Google to see what they have, if they have job opportunities, their interests, all that.” 

Learn more at saskpolytech.ca.