Whyte’s Foods will have no shortage of resumes to sort through after its two-day job fair attracted hundreds of people.
The job fair was held on Monday and Tuesday at Whyte’s new facility on Baseline Road in Wallaceburg.
Organizers of the event said they are looking for candidates for a variety of permanent positions including general labour, sanitation, and administrative.
According to Leslie Tomlenovich, director of quality assurance for Whyte's Foods, over 300 people showed up on day one. She said the response was incredible and they are especially seeing a lot of strong candidates for the general labourer roles.
"We are hiring for general labour positions. So, people that have a lot of flexibility in their schedule as well as an ability and drive to start up with us, there's a lot of people," she said.
Overall, the company is looking to bring on a workforce of about 100 people. Tomlenovich explained that they will be hiring in phases, with some employment starting in the summer and some starting up in the fall ahead of the full launch of their new manufacturing plant. Whyte’s Foods, famous for Strub’s Pickles, has been in operation under the same ownership for more than 43 years. The job fair is part of the commitment the company made last August when they announced a $16.5 million investment into the Wallaceburg area.
Tomlenovich said the two-day event was a chance to get to know some of the potential candidates.
"We're not doing any hiring on the spot," she explained. "This is a five-minute meet and greet where we say hi and introduce ourselves, get their information and what they're interested in then we'll be booking more formal interviews in the weeks to come."
For anyone who wasn't able to make it to the job fair, Tomlenovich said job seekers can search 'Strub's Pickles' on Facebook or visit Whyte's website to get contact information for the human resources department.