Future young entrepreneurs invited to SURGE Start-up Career Fair
Mohawk College will host a Start-Up Career Fair on January 20. The fair will be held in The Arnie from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Registration for the SURGE Start-up Career Fair is open to Mohawk students and Hamilton based community members who want to learn how they can work in Hamilton’s exciting entrepreneurship ecosystem. The companies attending are looking to hire for full-time and part-time positions, with paid, volunteer, internship and equity-based opportunities available. The Career Fair is organized by SURGE, Mohawk’s Entrepreneurship Connection, an on-campus resource funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence OCEA program. SURGE supports entrepreneurial activities at the college and in the community for youths aged 18-29.
By Andrea Johnson
Chris Buttenham knows what it is like to experience start-up success. His company, Tasytt, has the right product- a platform that gives teams one place to effectively and efficiently onboard their members- and the right support- he’s based at The Forge, Hamilton’s start-up accelerator.
All that is missing for him is the right people.
"Tasytt wants to tap into the surplus of ambitious students in the area who have benefited from very specialized programs,” says Buttenham.
“Cities with a connected, supportive start-up culture produce more qualified start-ups, which means better jobs and more business in the region. And that starts with students — they need to be aware of opportunities and we need them to bring their energy and technical skills."
Tasytt is just one of the 32 start-up companies that will be recruiting at Mohawk College at the January 20 SURGE- Start-Up Career Fair. The companies attending are looking to hire for full-time and part-time positions, with paid, volunteer, internship and equity-based opportunities available.
The Career Fair is organized by SURGE, Mohawk’s Entrepreneurship Connection, an on-campus resource funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence OCEA program. SURGE supports entrepreneurial activities at the college and in the community for youths aged 18-29.
Partners on the Career Fair include The Forge, Innovation Factory, Spectrum, McMaster’s Entrepreneurship Program, and the City of Hamilton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre
Registration for the SURGE Start-up Career Fair is open to Mohawk students and Hamilton based community members who want to learn how they can work in Hamilton’s exciting entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Alex Pryor, a Mohawk College Financial Services student is planning on attending the career fair. Pryor is a member of the MSA Entrepreneurship Club and is the owner of a small custom-made jewelry business. He’s hoping to use the career fair to network and gain insights about the unique needs of being small business and start-up owners.
“It’s a chance to meet fellow business owners and expand my perspective of various industries,” says Pryor. “This is an opportunity not only for a job, but to better get to know our field. It is a chance to ask questions, and see what expectations employers have.”
Karen Reiner is the SURGE project coordinator and organizer of the event. She sees the career fair as the perfect way to bring together entrepreneurially-minded people that can benefit from each other’s diverse skills and expertise.“There is such a diverse range of talent and skills available within the student body at Mohawk and McMaster,” says Reiner. “The Start-up Career Fair is an opportunity to make connections and spark interest- to introduce the graphic designer to the software developer, the aesthetician to the Spa owner, and the marketer to the auto mechanic.”
Mohawk grads Rebecca Kallsen and Alley Stennett couldn’t agree more. The recent grads from the college’s Public Relations Graduate Certificate program have already landed a Starter Company grant from the City of Hamilton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre.
As an exhibitor, they will meeting and networking at the career fair.
“By opening students’ eyes to entrepreneurship and growing a start-up business, it will help to not only keep students in Hamilton, but will add to this exciting ecosystem of small businesses that's flourishing in the city." says Kallsen.
Adds Stennett:
“Hamilton has a lot to offer, and the opportunities are only increasing by the day.”
What you need to know:
The SURGE Start-Up Career Fair will be held on January 20, 2016 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Arnie, located at Mohawk College’s Fennell campus. The event is organized by SURGE, Mohawk’s Entrepreneurship Connection, in partnership with The Forge, Innovation Factory, Spectrum, McMaster’s Entrepreneurship Program, and the City of Hamilton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre.
Free registration for the Start-up Career Fair is open until January 15, 2016 at http://startupcareerfairhamont.eventbrite.ca
SURGE is supported through the CampusStart program, an initiative of the Government of Ontario managed by Ontario Centres of Excellence, and is a member of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs.
Upcoming SURGE Events include:
February 3, 12-1 PM, Room i219, Fennell Campus
BUSINESS TRIAD SERIES: LEGAL, Guest: Associate Lennie Lejasisaks, Gowlings law firm
Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/BizTriadLegal
February 24, 12-1 PM, Room i219, Fennell Campus
BUSINESS TRIAD SERIES: INSURANCE, Guest: Jordan McCarter, Pearson Dunn Insurance
Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/BizTriadInsurance
March 9, 12-1 PM, Room i219, Fennell Campus
BUSINESS TRIAD SERIES: ACCOUNTANCY, Guest: Jon Veldstra, KPMG accountancy firm
Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/BizTriadAccount
March 10, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room TBC Fennell Campus
PITCH TRAINING CAMP
Hosted by: Dave Carter, Innovation Factory
Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/SURGEPitchTrain
March 23, 5:30-7:30 PM, Room TBC, Fennell Campus
PITCH IT TO WIN IT
Link to register: http://tinyurl.com/SURGEPitch
Mohawk College educates and serves more than 29,500 full-time, part-time, apprenticeship and international students at three main campuses in Hamilton, Ontario and learning hubs across Hamilton through City School by Mohawk, and at the College’s Centre for Aviation Technology at the Hamilton International Airport. Mohawk is among the top five colleges for applied research in Canada. It has been named one of Canada’s greenest employers seven years in a row, holds a GOLD STARS rating from AASHE for sustainability achievements and is home to the country’s largest and first institutional building to receive dual certification for Zero Carbon Building Framework design and performance for The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation. More than 135,000 people have graduated from Mohawk since it was founded.