This is from UMEET BHACHU, B.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), Dip.Tech (Mech. Eng.):
I am writing to express my disappointment in the Oil and Gas Job Fair organized by Mr. Dave Hayer along with the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources on October 25.
The advertisement read out loud with fancy wording trying to catch the attention of the educated folks: "The oil and gas industry are looking for hard-working employees to work in both entry level and more experienced positions. Jobs currently in demand include field assistants, equipment operators, engineers, environmental technologists, heavy-duty mechanics and surveyors. For some positions, an annual salary can reach $80,000." The above being taken exactly as it appears on Mr. Hayer's official website http://www.davehayermla.ca/.
Having my B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from UBC and my Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from B.C.I.T., I figured it was a good opportunity to check out what the fair had to offer. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as positions for entry-level engineers or the technically competent staff in the actual fair. The positions and, in fact, most of the fair were geared towards heavy equipment operators, truck drivers, drilling personnel and the likes of those. On inquiring about possible engineering vacancies I was handed out a list of websites of some major oil companies that I am already quite familiar with and was told to get in touch with them directly. It was a complete waste of my precious time considering it was organized during a weekday.
I would like to request Mr. Hayer to be more informed about the purpose of such fairs in the future and advertise accordingly. It would help to seek the guidance of a knowledgeable engineer or a technically competent person in advertising and marketing the fair so that it does not waste the time of actual engineers like myself in attending a fair recruiting truck drivers or equipment operators. It would also help to publish a list of companies and their actual positional requirements prior to organizing the fair.
Finally, I would like to point out that Chevron Burnaby Refinery is a substantial competitor in the Oil and Gas business and was not represented in the fair to any extent. It looked hilarious with booth stalls set up recruiting heavy equipment operators and truck drivers and the Kwantleen booth set up right along side stating that they would train for these positions, at least from an engineer's perspective. I think much better work could have done in advertising about this fair and in directing the appropriate people to attend.
One thing is for certain, I would probably not be attending any more of these fairs unless they are organized by the universities which do a good job of prior and informed listing of companies and positions. It should indeed have been named "Oil and Gas fair targeting Trades sector looking for general laborers and tradesmen" since that was the main focus.
I recommend new immigrants who are technically competent at the engineering level and are seeking to find employment in the oil/gas sector to visit the local universities for better results in their job hunt.
#2. PATHETIC PUNJABI MARKET DIWALI
This is from MUNNA PRASAD CHAUDHRY of Vancouver:
I drove by the so-called Punjabi Market on Diwali evening and what I saw was one pathetic restaurant with a string of drooping lights and another restaurant with a row of lights which is displayed daily to attract customers. As for the rest of the stores, they were dark and dingy looking.
This year again, the so-called Punjabi Market in South Vancouver failed to put up Diwali decorations. Diwali is the most important festival for these storekeepers as the Indians living in Greater Vancouver and Washington state come to buy presents and sweets and spend thousands of dollars. Yet, these shopkeepers have failed year after year to put up any lights for this festival or to make Rangoli, a traditional design.
I am sure that the so-called Punjabi Market Association and the shopkeepers could devote some resources for this most important Indian festival. I am encouraging the customers to ask the owners why they are not decorating their stores. Mind you, the customers do have other choices in the Lower Mainland if they do not get a satisfactory answer.
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