Tsawwassen Mills job fair fails to attract hoped-for job seekers

Hundreds of jobs remain unfilled after asoon-to-openmega-mallonTsawwassen First Nationlandfailed to attract the number of job seekers it hoped for on Thursday.

Approximately 3,000 full- and part-time positionswere up for grabs, but only an estimated 500 people showed up forthe Tsawwassen Mills job fair held in South Delta.

"We were hoping for more," said Pierre Lemieux of Pepper Palace. "Ideally, obviously you'd want your team ready and set to go by now."

Themall, which will have 150 retail outlets,is slated to open on Oct.5. Some of the 90 retailers at the job fair said they are concerned they won't have the staff they needhired in time for opening day.

But those who did attend said the job fair was a success.

"I've never seen anything like that before, usually when you go to a job interview you're really selling yourselves to them," said Surrey'sCashmere Ali. "It seems like here,they're selling themselves to you."

Job fair just one tool

Previously, TsawwassenMills held another job fair inlate June at theVancouverConvention Centre. Retailers said that job fairdidn't meet expectations either becauseit attracted too few applicants.

They saidit appearsmany people don't want todrive the distance toTsawwassenfor minimum wage positions.

A mall manager said he was confidentall the positions will be filled by the time theproject opens.

"The job fair is not the only one tool that they're using," saidMarkFenwick, general Manager ofTsawwassenMills.

"They also have online applications, some of them will leverage their existing store networks."

Major retailers such as H&M, Saks OFF 5TH, and Nike Factory Store are just some of the anchor storesthat have signed on with the mall.

With files fromKamil Karamali