Connecting young talent with Mississauga employers
Mississauga's business community is addressing youth unemployment with a powerful new technology platform to connect college and university students to local employers
Mississauga, April 14, 2015 - Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) has embarked on an ambitious project to spur meaningful opportunities for college and university students looking for full or part-time employment, as well as experiential learning placements.
MBOT, through an industry-led initiative called Advantage Mississauga, is urging employers to register with Magnet, a data-rich job matching technology platform. Magnet is incubated at Ryerson University's Digital Media Zone and was developed in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce to match businesses with the talent they need. Advantage Mississauga is working in partnership with Sheridan College and the University of Toronto, Mississauga by encouraging students and MBOT's member organizations to sign up with Magnet.
Magnet is a powerful platform that instantly matches job seekers and employers based on skills and needs. Students register by filling out their profile, and the system immediately provides them with specific job postings that match their skills, qualifications and job preferences. Every time a suitable new opportunity is posted, qualified students are automatically informed, meaning that 'Job Opportunities chase Students 24/7'.
A unique feature of Magnet is that a student's identity is shielded until they decide to communicate with a potential employer about a job posting. The platform also gives students the flexibility to use multimedia to further market themselves to potential employers.
Magnet promises to revolutionize how businesses source talent!
Employers are instantly matched with a pre-screened list of individuals who meet their specified skills requirements. Once a connection is made with a candidate, businesses are allowed to maintain this connection for future opportunities.
"When it comes to finding good jobs and sourcing the right talent quickly and efficiently, Magnet is a game changer," says Sheldon Leiba, MBOT's President and CEO. "For students, this technology portal provides instant access to jobs and placements. Our member companies will find this portal to be a fast, efficient and cost effective way to recruit and leverage the talent they need."
Magnet is a social initiative that began in early 2014 to address unemployment and underemployment, specifically as it relates to youth, new immigrants, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, and other individuals facing barriers to employment. From the job seeker side, Magnet's membership currently includes more than 20 universities and colleges. To date, over 42,000 job candidates have signed-up and that number is expected to rise dramatically as awareness grows.
"Mississauga has world-class post-secondary institutions like Sheridan College and the University of Toronto at Mississauga which educate and graduate some our best and brightest youth," Mayor Crombie said. "We also have important networks, like MBOT and Advantage Mississauga, which work to help ensure young professionals can secure new employment opportunities. The launch of Magnet will strengthen our existing connections and better position youth to pursue their career aspirations and invest back our community as members of the workforce," Mayor Crombie added.
"Magnet is about connecting jobs to people and helping communities to work more productively," says Mark Patterson, Executive Director, Magnet. "Beyond its role in addressing youth unemployment and underemployment and helping businesses succeed, Magnet provides municipal, provincial and federal decision makers with a rich and detailed source of real-time labour market information. This information will provide reliable data with which to make informed decisions about how to effectively address labour issues such as skills gaps."
Businesses can start posting opportunities and job seekers can sign-up by visiting http://AdvantageMississauga.Magnet.Today
