Manitoba Afro-Caribbean Association's career fair aims to help job-seekers, businesses connect

Organizers of a long-running Afro-Caribbean Association of Manitobajob and career fair that returns this weekend say the event has been helping Winnipeg workplaces become more diverse for decades, while helping job-seekers connect with a wide variety of opportunities.

Co-ordinator Jim Ogunnoiki said a lot has changed since he started the event back in 1999.

"The way I saw the situation of employment in those days was complete racial imbalance," he said. At that point, most of his peers from Nigeria had to settle for menial jobs, even if they had high levels of education, he said.

"Today, if you have what your employers need, you will be hired."

Ogunnoiki said the job fair which returnsSaturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holy Eucharist Parish Centre onMunroe Avenuehas helped increase the numbers of Black Winnipeggers working in a range of fields, including finance, health care, the military and IT.

He said back in the late 1990s, the city only had three Black police officers, but Black Winnipeggers have been landing law enforcement jobs at the fair since.

Ogunnoiki says he was once pulled over by one of those officers, who was directing traffic at a broken light standard.

I said, 'Officer, what did I do wrong?' And this officer tried to salute me and thank me for putting this uniform on him," he said.

"I was in shock," said Ogunnoiki, bursting intolaughter.

The job fair is presented as part of Black History Month, but welcomes people of all backgrounds.

Ogunnoiki says the event opens doors, even for those who don't get hired right away.

"Talk to the employers," he advised. "Ask, 'What will it take to get a job with you?'"

Diversitygood for business: employer

Abiodun Oke, a global supply chain consultant attending the job fair as an employer, saidthe people he's hired there over the years have enhanced his business.

"When you have a diverse group, the level of innovation and ideas that come through are at different levels," said the entrepreneur behind Cerial Projects Services, based in Winnipeg.

Oke said those new ideas can help a company grow and better align with its customers, since today's market is also diverse.

"This really helps drive the economy locally here in Winnipeg," he added.

He encourages newcomers to come to Saturday's job fair and network, adding that some of the people he met at the event six years ago are still working for him as consultants, while others are servingon the company's board.

"It's an opportunity for you to connect with people who probably have a similar background as you," he said.

"They may become your mentor, they may even become the support you need."

Oke said he faced barriers when he came to Canada from Nigeria, especially when it came to communication.

"Accents are OK, everybody's got one," he said. "But being able to communicate clearly, regardless of those accents this is where our consultants really help.

"We have training programs that we provide to people who work with us so they can overcome this challenge."

'Lots of opportunities'

International student Ivingha Kenneth, who has been applying for jobs since he moved to Winnipeg less than two months ago, said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend the careerfair.

"Knowing there are lots of recruiters here, I definitely jumped on it," he said at Saturday's event.

"There are lots of opportunities."

The same goes for 24-year-old Terrence Nehring-Clarke, who waslet go from his job earlier this week. While he said the job hunt can be discouraging for some, he's kept a positive attitude.

"You could literally walk into one door, and nine other doors open," he said.

"It's been a really cool moment in my life to actually reconsider any new career paths."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.You can read more stories here.