'A lot of jobs to fill': Newcomers to London, Ont. line up to fill work vacancies

Facing unrest in Western Asia, Sarah Bawazir fled on her own to Canada.

“I came here because the war in Yemen is there and I can’t feel like safe my country,” says Bawazir.

Saturday morning, she part of a job fair aimed at helping newcomers to London, Ont. start a career.

“I'm looking for accounting or bookkeeping,” she says. “I’m already working a part-time job, but I'm looking for another.”

She was one of hundreds who showed up at RBC Place for London Newcomer Day. The event featured 51 employers, including newcomers themselves Amazon and Maple Leaf.

“We're one of the fastest growing cities in the province and that means we got a lot of jobs to fill,” says Josh Morgan, London’s mayor elect.

“This is a great day to get employers connected with talented individuals. We have 80,000 immigrants to the city which represents about 20 per cent of the population. This is this is an important, significant part of our city and a significant part of our workforce.”

Stevenson Ixima (left) is a general labourer from Nigeria. He speaks with Ryan Savage of Liuna 1059 about potential employment at London Newcomer Day in London, Ont. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Stevenson Ixima is a general labourer from Nigeria who has been here seven months.

“I have ideas about trade,” says Ixima.

“In my home, I did a lot of tiling, carpentry, and concrete jobs. Here in Canada you guys use wood a lot, which means you got to do a lot of dry-walling, which are very doing right now.”

He was speaking with labourers union Liuna 1059, which offered virtual reality to show what a jobsite could look like.

“The best thing is these workers that are coming from all over the world is that they have the abilities, they have the skills already,” says Ryan Savage, an organizer with Liuna.

“Now it's just getting them lined up with one of our signatory contractors to let that contractor continue to grow and bid on more work, and know that new Canadian grow their household and their community.”

The Cross Cultural Learner Centre (CCLC) called it a “great day.”

“It allows employers, and it allows community organizations as well as newcomers to get together and then to really learn about each other,” says Maria Franco, manager of marketing at CCLC.

“They can learn how you can collaborate and learn how we can make London a really inclusive city where everyone can really integrate and succeed.”  

Hundreds of new Londoners showed up London Newcomer Day at RBC Place in London, Ont. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2023 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)