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HR Voice
» Student Connections
BC HRMA Takes Part in Annual Creating
Connections Career Fair
Sarah Hart BBA, CHRP Candidate
On March 10, BC HRMA took part in the Capilano School of Business’ annual Creating
Connections Career Fair and Networking event. Held for the first time at Park Royal Shopping
Centre in West Vancouver, the venue was alive with Capilano School of Business students
and members of the local business community. This year’s event brought together
approximately 130 students, 150 corporate guests, and 30 Capilano University Faculty to
“create connections”. Despite the current gloomy economic outlook, the room was abuzz
with excitement and energy as students mingled with local business professionals.
Furthermore, the event took on new meaning this year as Capilano had recently been
granted regional university status and students were eager to celebrate their newly minted
university.
The evening began with an opportunity for students and
graduates to network with the professional guests and visit
the career fair. This year’s event boasted 20 corporate booths
including; North Shore Credit Union, CMA, CGA, Institute of
Chartered Accountants of BC, BCHRMA, North Shore
Waterfront Industrial Association, VANOC, District & City of
North Vancouver, Sun Life Financial, Investors Group,
Leaders of Tomorrow, West Vancouver Chamber of
Commerce, University of Canada West, Royal Bank of
Canada, Arlyn Reid, Aon Reed Stenhouse Inc., Spirit of BC,
Capilano Business Undergraduate Society, Capilano University
IDEA Program, Canadian Youth Business Foundation, and
Capilano University's Continuing Education. This was a
valuable forum for students and new graduates to showcase
themselves and practice the important skill of networking.
“I felt that the event served as an excellent opportunity for
students and alumni to gain confidence in our networking
abilities,” said Heather Lewis, a recent BBA and Advanced
Diploma in Strategic Human Resources Management
graduate.
BC HRMA was, again, an event sponsor and participated in
the career fair with Elizabeth Bonner, Member Relations
Manager for Coastal Vancouver and Sarah Hart, Post
Secondary Committee Student Representative, in attendance.
The booth attracted many students eager to learn about the
Ghazal Tohidi, a Capilano
University student involved in the
HR Club, stopped by the BC HRMA
booth at the Creating Connections
event in March.
benefits of a student membership with the association. The awareness and visibility of BC
HRMA and the field of Human Resources has increased among the School of Business
students for several reasons: the introduction of the Advanced Diploma in Strategic Human
Resources Management, a specialization completed in conjunction with the BBA program,
and the formation of the student-led Capilano HRMA.
The evening was capped by two enlightening keynote speeches, by Doug Smith, chair of the
Spirit of BC for the North Shore and vice president of corporate affairs for North Shore Credit
Union and Michael Campbell, host of Money Talks and senior business commentator for
Global BCTV News. Smith inspired professional and student guests alike with a discussion on
the multitude of revenue earning opportunities available to both entrepreneurs and
established businesses during the 2010 Olympics. Campbell drove home his main point of
opportunity during change, with many insightful and relevant economic anecdotes. He
encouraged students to be creative leaders and take advantage of this time of economic
uncertainty.
Creating Connections 2009 proved to be a valuable opportunity for both students and local
businesses to connect and learn from each other. Creating Connections will take a year’s
hiatus during 2010, allowing students and the local business community to focus their efforts
on Olympic opportunities. To learn more about being involved with Creating Connections
2011, please contact Sarah Sharp, career development officer for the School of Business at
Capilano University at 604.990.7872 or [email protected].
