For the second year in a row, the Town of Biggar is hosting a job fair for people in and around the west-central Saskatchewan community.

Community Development Officer in Biggar Cassidy Burton had an easy answer when asked just who this job fair is for.

"Well, everybody." said Burton.

The job fair began in 2023, but Burton says the main issue started way earlier, talking about how businesses in town were struggling to find people to work.

"We really wanted to help the businesses out. In speaking with the schools about it, they weren't sure if students were aware of all the opportunities out there. For seasonal things, summer jobs, or even when they finish school. If they were waiting to go to university, if they wanted to try a trade out, we didn't think they knew." Burton described. "The point is to educate everybody on what is here, in and around Biggar. Because there is a lot here."

Burton continued.

"It's more than working at the gas station, or working at the malt plant. There is a lot here that people don't know about. Everybody, there's jobs for students, but there is jobs (and careers) for adults as well."

With it being the second year, Burton talked about some of the chatter going on around town. An extended period of 1-6 PM should get a few more people in attendance than in 2023, as it was actually the businesses who asked if the job fair could be held during school hours.

"(It was) the first time we did it, and it went from 5 PM to 7 PM. I wasn't sure what kind of turnout we would have from the businesses," said Burton as over 30 people were in attendance for their business. "People are interested, people want to be there, we probably had 30 people come through the job fair, and it was after hours, it was the first time, so I would say it was pretty good."

Burton shared that 38 businesses are now confirmed for Tuesday's job fair taking place at the high school. Not only will high school students be in attendance, but Burton mentioned another two schools will be joining them for a portion of the day.

Even though it's such a great opportunity for students, Burton couldn't stress enough that the job fair is for everyone.

"We really are hoping to get a lot of people from different communities coming in. It's not just for the students, it's for everybody looking for a job, a career change, or just a casual side-job. I think there is a little bit of buzz about it."

Another thing that the 1-6 PM timeslot will allow for is a chance for students to get in-depth conversations with owners.

"We've allowed some of the businesses to have one-on-one speaking opportunities with some of the students, and that also really helps the educational piece of, 'look what you can do in a small town.'"

While the spotlight will be on local businesses, one opportunity that has Burton excited is a chance for people to consider a career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"The whole premise is how can we support our town, and area. We get businesses in from Perdue, Landis, and Rosetown. But getting the recruiting department out from Regina, to talk about RCMP? That's pretty cool for a second year job fair."