McBride Career Group closes doors in Strathmore

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

For seven years, the McBride Career Group provided thousands of services and workshops to the area’s residents.
However, following the provincial government’s decision to not renew their contract, the McBride Career Group branch in Strathmore is closing its doors at the end of the month.
Since 2011, the organization has provided over 52,000 individualized services to job seekers, hosted 11 jobs fairs and administered more than 2,500 workshops in Strathmore.
“All I can say is that we were not awarded this contract and there will be a new service provider coming out into the community,” said Michelle Fox-Salim, program manager with McBride Career Group Strathmore. “Judging from the feedback that we’ve had from the community, obviously the service is really needed out here. Our hope is that whoever is the service provider coming out will provide the same level of service that we’ve been doing for seven years.”
McBride Career Group was launched in 1989 when the organization began working with unemployed Albertans. Since then, the services have expanded to include employment support, occupational training, career consulting and professional development. Strathmore is one of 10 sites to provide services including professional resumé preparation, job search approaches, computer training and employer support services.
Over the years, the site was nominated for four awards and won the Newsy Neighbour Reader’s Choice GOLD 2016-2017 Best Business Coach award. McBride ran programs geared towards seniors and youth, and worked closely with other Strathmore agencies and individuals.
One such relationship was fostered between McBride Career Group and Bow Valley College, where both parties benefited from each other’s referrals and job fairs.
“It was definitely shocking when Michelle told me … it was a good relationship for referrals and helping each other out that way, and we attended most of their career fairs to get more interest and get our word out there too,” said Lilian Au, regional campus and learner services administrator for Bow Valley College Strathmore and Chestermere.
“They are very pleasant to work with. For employment related training (it) will definitely be a hard hit for the town; for people that need resumé writing, potentially look for a job and interview skills. That will definitely affect people.”
According to Samantha Power, press secretary with the minister of community and social services, the government is obligated to issue an open request for proposal when a contract ends. In regards to McBride Career Group, she said a number of contracts were concluded in November and the successful proponent will be posted on the Alberta Purchasing Connection website once finalized.
The McBride Career Group offices will remain open until the end of the month and staff members are encouraging those in need of assistance to set up an appointment. The organization is also planning a final career fair March 15.
“It’s hard, I’ve been out here pretty much since day one, so I’ve seen how McBride has really engrained itself into the community,” said Fox-Salim. “I’m hoping that people will come in and get the service that they need and get their resumés done. I think it’ll be a busy month for sure. Our last (job fair) was huge, so we’re going to do one more, we’re going to go out in style.”
While the Strathmore site will be closing down, McBride Career Group sites in Calgary, Edmonton, High River, Okotoks, Ponoka and Red Deer will remain in operation.