Forum helps job search

By Mary Chan

University graduates who hope to get a foot in potential employers’ doors will have a chance this November. The Nexus Generation Speaks Out forum, presented by the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers, will explore the new workplace environment in the next century on Nov. 19 in the PanCanadian Petroleum building.

The forum will contain a presentation from Angus Reid about workplace trends in the 21st century.

"That’s really a key for students, to come out and listen to the presentation and get valuable information in terms of what the workplace is going to look like for the future and if employers are thinking about making changes," said CACEE’s Nadine Crowder.

The forum will also feature a panel discussion with six post-secondary students.

"The student forum itself is a panel of students representing the U of C, Mount Royal College, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, ITI, DeVry and the Youth Employment Centre at the City of Calgary," said Crowder.

The panel discussion, in which the audience can participate, will cover topics concerning how workplace changes with the retirement of babyboomers and the emergence of a new generation of workers.

"We do know what we’re doing, [and] we do have an idea of what we’d like to see in the workplace, whether it’s because we’ve seen what our parents have gone through and we don’t want to have the same rat race or we want a little more flexibility," said Crowder. "We have different values and different goals."

U of C Career Services will send someone whose program is unique to the institution. According to Career Services Education Coordinator Keith Scharnau, the university’s co-op engineering program is one such example.

"Many of the other programs are represented in some form at MRC or SAIT," he said. "Our student has been through the co-op program at the U of C and she is an Engineering student."

Scharnau added that university students have much to gain from attending.

"[Students] would be able to learn some of the current labour market information," he said. "They will be able to give any employer feedback and hear what other students think on the panel and do some networking."

The forum begins at 8 a.m. on Nov. 19. The cost is $5, and U of C students can only register through University Career Services. The registration deadline is Nov. 12.