DOWNTOWN WINDSOR NEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 21, 2009 - Over 200 jobs were up for grabs at the Downtown Hospitality Job Fair Saturday May 2

By Karen Ashford, Communications Intern

Owners and managers of businesses in the downtown Windsor hospitality industry joined forces to host the Downtown Hospitality Job Fair on May 2 from 12-4 at the Hilton, where over 200 jobs were up for grabs.

"Over 1,000 people lined up to apply for approximately 200 jobs in four hours," said James Asher, Hospitality Resource Coordinator for the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association.

According to a recent survey conducted by Asher, the hospitality industry employs 1500 people in downtown Windsor, excluding the 2500 Caesars Windsor employees.

"I found lots of qualified candidates," said Dave Haas, owner of Treehouse and Black Kettle Bistro. Haas was looking to fill five vacant positions and received over 100 applications on Saturday. "I found people I would be interested in hiring," he said.

The job fair showcased over 200 downtown Windsor jobs, including dish-washers, cooks, bartenders, waiters and waitresses, promotions and door men. 

Tanya Nikolic (left) & Christy Joveceski
are both University of Windsor students looking for full-time jobs for the summer and part-time jobs during the school year.  Both said they found it easier to attend the job fair than going door-to-door handing out resumes.
 

Sean Dugdale is a 36-year-old with over 17 years of kitchen experience and enjoys working in the hospitality industry. "I am unemployed and looking for a full-time job," he said.

There are over thirteen thousand licensed indoor seats and over six-hundred licensed outdoor seats in downtown Windsor, Asher said.  These numbers represent the number of people who come to downtown Windsor to enjoy the many luxuries of such a vibrant hospitality industry.  

"I am here to fill all of my positions," said Angus MacKinnon, owner of Loose Goose, a new downtown bar scheduled to open this summer. "It's good to be able to speak with job seekers and get a sense of what they're looking for and what they can bring to my establishment," MacKinnon said.

Over two dozen restaurant and bar owners came together and created jobs in the downtown core, said Asher.

"For our first event, this was a huge success," Asher said. "I am extremely pleased with the turn out and it gave the hospitality industry some positive exposure," he said.