3,500 hospitality and travel jobs offered

When you're job hunting, that first impression means everything.

And Michelle Shaw got off to a fine start yesterday.

While applying for work at the Wildfire restaurant and Best Western Beacon Harbourside booth, its recruiter made an instant connection with Shaw.

"Oh wow, how do you like that -- we both have the same first name!" Michelle Parrotta said with a laugh.

The two Michelles were among 2,100 who packed the Quality Hotel and Parkway Convention Centre in St. Catharines for the Niagara Employment Expo 2009.

As Niagara weathers one of the country's worst unemployment rates, job seekers applied for more than 3,500 positions offered by 46 employers.

Parrotta's booth was a popular one for employment hunters like Shaw.

Parrotta liked the skills her namesake offered and suggested a customer service position at Best Western could be a good match.

"You probably would fit in quite well," said Shaw, 33, a St. Catharines resident who took time off to raise a family. "'So, can I put you down for maybe a callback for front desk?" Parrotta asked her.

"Oh sure, you bet," said Shaw with a wide smile.

At Collectcorp -- around the corner from Parrotta's booth -- business is booming, and so are its job vacancies.

In a recession, people to work in debt and accounts receivable collections is in growing demand. At the expo, the firm was looking for 20 collections agents to add to a staff of 100.

"We're in a huge growing mode," said Lee-Joseph Agnew, Collectcorp's training and recruiting manager. "And these openings are as immediate as (starting) Monday.

"It's tough work, but we have a good screening process," Agnew said. "I have had a lot of interest in these jobs, but it's so specialized not a lot of people can do it."

"I'm also noticing a lot here who've been laid off and are looking for a new career," he said.

"And there are others who are stuck in their job -- with a slow economy, they have wage freezes, lost incentives at work and had hours cut."

Justin Vallieres, 25, of St. Catharines was one of many to remark how busy the expo was.

'"It's a better turnout and there are way more employers than last year," said Vallieres, who is looking for restaurant and construction work. "Hopefully, I'll get return calls and feedback about how I did today."

Trudy Parsons, executive director of the Niagara Workforce Planning Board, said more than twice the number of jobs were offered at the expo this year compared to 2008.

The expo is an Employment Ontario project funded partly by the federal government and co-ordinated by the Planning Board.

It offered a resource area, photocopies of resumes and access to experts who lent tips on making presentations to employers.

"This shows there are still jobs out there," Parsons said. Hospitality and tourism, the public service, non-profit sector and health care were well represented yesterday.

"These jobs at the expo are the kinds of jobs that people are not being laid off from right now," she said.

"All we hear about are the layoffs and closures, but not about the employers like these that are still hiring."

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