March 15, 2024
Congress event provides networking opportunities for job seekers
By Julia Harmsworth

Landscape Ontario hosted its first-ever Landscape.jobs Hiring Party on January 11, 2024 at the Toronto Congress Centre in conjunction with the Congress trade show and conference. Dubbed “speed dating for job seekers,” the afternoon event brought job seekers and employers from across Ontario together for some productive networking and fun activities.

To make mingling as easy and stress-free as possible, the hiring party facilitated relaxed conversations by structuring it as a game where job seekers asked potential employers seven questions to be entered into a draw to win a prize.

“There are a lot of jobs that are available in this field of work, and there are many different career paths. A lot of people who are trying to job search don’t always know about those jobs, so it’s really important that we consider what we can do to support people,” said Courtney McCann, Landscape Ontario’s director of workforce development.

Before the hiring party, staff held an information session for employers about the association’s professional development programs. These include Training for New Workers, the Supervisory Training Program for current employees, and Employers of Choice, which helps business owners and leaders build strong teams.

Employers posted jobs on the Landscape.jobs Live! Job Board at Congress, which were seen by thousands of job seekers throughout the three-day trade show. LO also facilitated informal sessions on the show floor for job seekers and employers to meet and engage face-to-face.

“I’m really hoping that the job seekers not only got to meet all sorts of different employers that do different types of jobs, but that they were inspired and felt some of the passion that some of the members have, and now they may be considering different jobs they hadn’t thought of before,” McCann added.

Employers can post jobs for free online on the Landscape.jobs job board at landscape.jobs.

man and woman shaking hands