The doors were open to all at the annual NETP Career Fair, held at the Alberni Athletic Hall on April 9, 2026. Attendees were invited to bring their resumes as they visited dozens of booths offering career or educational information.
Shan Ross, special projects coordinator for the Nuu-chah-nulth Employment & Training Program (NETP), said the event has been running annually for 10 years, with an average visitor count of 400.
“Four hundred and seventy-three was our highest count, mostly high school and college students as we are located across the street from both learning centers,” he said.
But there were other school students from neighbouring communities that attended the fair. There were also adults and seniors seen checking out employment opportunities.
NETP provided lunch and snacks, and many of the students went home with red swag bags.
Ross said the fair is open to the public.
“Some people do come with resumes in hand, but most vendors are there providing career information, while only a few will take resumes if they are hiring,” Ross shared.
Those that were taking resumes included Alberni Co-op, Long Beach Lodge Resort, Cermaq, Starbucks and Ucluelet Harbour Seafoods. Others will have online applications, Ross added.
The 2026 NETP Career Fair offered employment and education information for dozens of sectors from tourism and hospitality jobs to careers in forestry, fisheries, wildfire fighting, health care, emergency services and military careers.
“We’ve been holding this event annually since 2014 but missed a couple of years during COVID-19,” said Ross.
NETP was able to host this year with the support of co-sponsors including the Government of Canada.
