As the number of people entering the trades industries continues to drop, it has become vital for companies to attend job fairs and recruit youths who may be searching for a career.
For Boilermakers Lodge 146, it is no different.
They were one of the 80 employers looking for potential new hires on March 27, as the Big Four building opened its doors for the 26th annual youth hiring fair in Calgary.
“It doesn’t matter if they end up applying with us or they do not, but getting the word out there, telling people what exactly boilermakers do, what welders exactly do,” said Sandiso Mpofu.
The third-year boiler maker apprentice stressed the importance of recruiting youth into the trades and the repercussions if the trades die out.
“If we don’t have the trades, then the trades are gonna die and then everything is not gonna be sustainable,” said Mpofu.
“As much as we are usually in the background, people see the electricity running, they don’t usually think about ‘how is this happening.’”
Intentionally, the job fair was free to attend.
“It’s about the opportunity for young people to never have to pay to come to this fair,” Tara Huxley, team lead for the Youth Employment Centre said.
“There’s not a cost associated by connecting with the Youth Employment Centre or our hiring fair to look at employment opportunities.”
Calgary’s biggest job fair drew an anticipated 5,000 youth aged 15-24. The event ended at 6 p.m.
“We started in 1999 and since that time, we have had 97,000 young people between the ages of 15 to 24 walk through the doors and close to 2,000 employers,” she said.
Huxley said that in February 2025, the youth (15-24) unemployment rate was double that of adults (25-54), at 14 per cent. She credits an influx of people moving to Calgary, as well as a higher return rate to the unemployment numbers.
“So, many young people are choosing to go back to their seasonal job, or they are holding on to their current job, and they’re not going to another job as quickly as they were before,” Huxley said.
Huxley believes that the wide variety of employers attending the fair is crucial for making connections and discovering industries.
“We have young people every year that walk out of here with a job, maybe their first job, or their next job, or they start to think about ‘that’s an interesting career I didn’t think about,’” she said.
“We know that these youth are very active. They’re willing, ready and able to work. What makes it successful is having unbelievably diverse opportunities of sectors here that are hiring.”
Calgary youth are looking for work
For Araya Marcellais-Cripps, attending the event was out of necessity.
“I need a summer job. I need to pay for rent. I need to live,” said Marcellais-Cripps.
The 21-year-old is interested in working in the restaurant industry and spoke to several booths about employment.
Fifteen-year-old Ian Buhler is hoping to become an engineer someday. For now, Buhler attended the job fair looking for a part-time job.
“I’m just looking for a part-time job that can maybe make some money in the summer, I’m also looking for experience,” Buhler said.
Youth employment counsellor at the youth employment centre, Hardeep Seeghat, said that taking the steps to set yourself apart is the key to a successful job fair.
“When you approach an employer, bring your best self forward, come with intention and have that elevator pitch where you can sell it to them, why you need that job or deserve that job,” Seeghat said.
The Gentlemen Pros Plumbing, Heating & Electrical company said they liked to focus on long-term hires.
“We like to have a broad spectrum. We don’t put an (upper) age restriction on it,” said Nate McKay.
2025 marked the second time McKay attended a youth job fair.
“You’re planting a seed early, and if five years from now they decide they want to come be in a trade, they can make really good money for what it is,” he said.
