By Vanessa Broadbent

Oliver Chronicle

Having a career goal in mind can inspire youth to make better choices.

That’s what actor Nathaniel Arcand told a group of students from Sen Pok Chin Elementary School last Wednesday.

Arcand was at the school as part of a job fair hosted by WorkBC/The Open Door Group and the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB). He said that while the school’s students may have been too young to apply for some of the jobs advertised, that doesn’t mean the fair didn’t have a lasting impact.

“It inspires them to look forward to doing something with their lives and think about it now opposed to after they get out of school,” he said. “The time to think about it is now.”

Arcand knew he wanted to be an actor when he watched Bruce Lee in Chinese Connection at the age of six but it didn’t become a reality until he was 19.

After watching his friends make destructive choices, Arcand decided to take his life “into (his) own hands.”

“I had just gotten out of trouble being a bad kid of sorts and I got some good talking to by people that were role models to me,” he said.

“I listened to them and decided I was going to go back to school and look for a job. Once I did that, that was it – there was no looking back.”

Although Arcand ended up in the film industry, as a child he was influenced by first responders. At career fairs, he says youth have the opportunity to meet people in those careers and see how accessible it is.

“You get to research and see the people that are involved and talk to them first hand. A lot of people are scared to talk to police officers until you actually talk to one. You realize it’s a job and you can get that job if you want it.”

Now Arcand’s resume includes films like Pathfinder, American Outlaws and The Revenant. But his volunteer work includes inspiring youth – something that the Osoyoos Indian Band is passionate about, according to Kendi Clearwater, a job developer with WorkBC/The Open Door Group.

“OIB has always been a leader in inspiring people to reach far. They’ve done that by example and that’s part of what they’re doing with Nathaniel.”

This is the third year that WorkBC/The Open Door Group has partnered with the Osoyoos Indian Band. From left: Kendi Clearwater, Julia Bateman and Megan Edwards. (Vanessa Broadbent photo)

This year was the third that WorkBC/The Open Door Group have partnered with the OIB to host the job fair, but it was the first that they hosted two – one in Osoyoos and one in Oliver.

Although both fairs featured a lot of the same employers, Julia Bateman, associate program director with WorkBC/The Open Door Group said that having two allowed for some to complete their hiring earlier in the season.

“Some employers’ hiring starts earlier so we were hoping to have the second one to be able to capture people that haven’t finished their hiring.”

But Clearwater noted that with low unemployment rates in the province, not as many people are searching for jobs. She said that in February the unemployment rate was 4.9 per cent across the province. Anything below six per cent is considered full employment.

“This year the unemployment rate is very low,” she said. “If it’s 4.9 per cent you know that there are not a lot of job seekers.”

Regardless, there are still jobs available, mostly in construction, health care and seasonal hospitality.

Anyone looking for help with their job search can visit the WorkBC Employment Services Centre located at 291 Fairview Road.

(Vanessa Broadbent photo)

(Vanessa Broadbent photo)

(Vanessa Broadbent photo)