With a projected 18,300 jobs to fill by 2030, the municipality of Chatham-Kent is utilizing innovative approaches to employee attraction and retention. As part of its broader Learning, Earning, and LivingCK workforce development strategy they held a job fair and career expo in October 2023. 

This event offered local students, local jobseekers and external jobseekers ways to engage with employers and community partners in the following sections: 

• Learning (Career Expo): An experiential, hands-on and interactive career pathway expo focusing on in-demand jobs and growth sectors in the municipality 
• Earning (Job Fair): A job fair to showcase current job opportunities. 
• Living CK: An interactive lounge with digital storytelling to showcase life in Chatham-Kent.  

The interactive lounge was part of a broader effort to introduce potential residents to the community of Chatham-Kent, which offers proximity to green space, a thriving arts, culture, and entertainment scene, and a stress-free commute. 

“Welcomability is extremely important to us,” says Victoria Bodnar, manager of community attraction and promotion in Chatham-Kent. “It underpins all of our work in economic development, including the Learning, Earning, and LivingCK job fair and career expo.” 

The job fair and career expo marketing campaign targeted jobseekers across southwestern Ontario and the Greater Toronto area, receiving a total of 7,869,186 impressions across branded content, billboards, social media channels, and other advertisements. 

2,400 students and 880 job-seekers attended, with many expressing gratitude for an informative and “joyful” experience. 

Partnerships were key to the success of the event that included over ten organizations from across the region, 65 exhibitors, and the Newcomer Centre of Peel. 

The Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) recognized this success with an award of excellence in workforce development and resident attraction. Awards of excellence are presented annually, celebrating leaders in economic development. 

Chatham-Kent’s Learning, Earning, and LivingCK initiative was partially funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the Rural Economic Development (RED) program.