For Job Seekers, Employers, and Everyone In Between

The Job You Walked Past.

Tucked in Nanaimo’s downtown along Skinner Street, there’s a door most people walk past without a second thought. You’ve probably walked past it. You probably know someone who’s been inside. What happens beyond that door, and what it’s made possible for people in this city, is a story most Nanaimo residents don’t know they’re missing.

On any given day, the WorkBC Centre Nanaimo job board spans everything from entry-level retail shifts to senior-level professional roles. Somewhere inside, a newcomer from the Philippines is meeting a career coach for the very first time. A laid-off tradesman is learning, with some surprise, that he qualifies for fully-funded skills upgrading. A local contractor has just posted a job opening (for free) and is already fielding applications by afternoon. Most don’t even know this resource existed, but those who find it are glad they did.

The WorkBC Centre has been hiding in plain sight in this community for years. The reason most residents haven’t thought much about it? They assume it isn’t for them. That, as it turns out, is almost never true.

Not Just a Job Board

Most people who walk in for the first time will tell you the same thing: they wish they’d come sooner. The gap between what the WorkBC Centre does and what people think it does is a national problem. Only 19% of Canadian adults aged 25 to 64 have used career services, compared to 38% of Americans, and well below other OECD countries. Yet over 95% of Canadians who do use career services report a positive change.

WorkBC Centre Nanaimo is trying to close that gap one person at a time.

For job seekers, the support goes well beyond a listing. The WorkBC Centre is publicly funded and offers one-on-one case management, resume help, networking coaching, upskilling opportunities, and job-start support that continues after someone is hired. This sets it apart from privately operated career services; the WorkBC Centre tends to offer deeper, more sustained support. As some examples, a single mother can access daycare assistance while she spends time retraining. A former CEO can walk in and get connected to the right people in the local market. The WorkBC Centre means something different to everyone who walks in.

But for about 80% of them, it means a job.

There is also something the internet cannot offer: insider knowledge. Who you know makes the most difference, and the WorkBC Centre helps you figure out who that should be. That matters especially when you consider that an estimated 60% of jobs are never publicly posted at all.

The Employer Side

The WorkBC Centre is not only for people looking for work. Local employers can post jobs for free, access a wage subsidy program worth up to 24 weeks of support on a sliding scale, and get help covering practical onboarding costs like boots, hard hats, or professional certifications. The program has been used by multiple employers, multiple times.

A Community Growing Into Itself

The WorkBC Centre also offers specialized programs for those who need more targeted support. The Single Parent Employment Initiative, for example, is designed specifically for clients who are single parents on income or disability assistance.

WorkBC Centre Nanaimo is also expanding its reach. When the new Youth Foundry opens to all of Nanaimo in about ten months, a WorkBC Centre staff member will be on site, bringing their services directly to young people where they already are.

On April 16th, WorkBC Centre Nanaimo is hosting a job fair at the Beban Centre, worth attending whether you are hiring, job hunting, or simply curious about what is out there.

Which, it turns out, might be more than you think.