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Curbside pickup or delivery available. SHOPAT AGH NOW ONLINE! we've seen is the lack of ac- cess to technology," said Tracy Cunning, vice-presi- dent of employment servic- es with Goodwill, which has career centres in Oak- ville and Burlington. "With a lot of young peo- ple who were in school now receiving online education, there's a fight for the family computer and internet bandwidth. Those people who are lower on the socio- economic scale are being more adversely affected because they can't just go out and buy another com- puter or increase their in- ternet service. And in some cases, they don't even have a computer at home." She noted that Good- will's career centres are now open to the public again and provide resourc- es like computers and pho- tocopiers for job seekers. So what are the job op- portunities like out there at the moment? According to Cunning, it depends on what line of work you're seeking. "There are actually quite a number of fields that have grown and con- tinue to be strong through the pandemic," she said, pointing to areas like logis- tics, health care, food man- ufacturing, grocery stores and cleaners. "They're very much in demand and growing. But there are other positions that still haven't recovered fully and may not for quite some time, like restaurant and customer service posi- tions." Many of the available jobs are entry level or high- er-end positions, noted Cunning, leaving a large group of people trapped in the middle as either under or overqualified. "They may need to look at re-skilling for future oc- cupations," she said, add- ing there are initiatives such as the province's Sec- ond Career program avail- able to help people in this position. Those who are on the hunt for a new career have been turning to people like The Resumé Pro's Kate Teves for help. The Milton woman, a former recruiter, began offering resumé writing and interview coaching services near the start of the pandemic and has been busy helping peo- ple who've lost their jobs in hard-hit fields such as re- tail and entertainment. "These people had the same job for many years, and now they can't find an- other position in their in- dustry," she said. "It's a matter of finding those transferable skills that are important across all indus- tries -- such as people man- agement, customer service and inventory counts -- and transferring them over to other sectors that are do- ing really well. E-com- merce, warehousing and logistics are thriving right now with everyone online shopping." Teves suggested those who are looking for work should stick to the most im- portant details in their re- sumés and practise job in- terview questions before the big moment arrives -- something that's often hap- pening by phone or video call in today's pandemic job market. Employment centres are also helping job seekers brush up on their virtual interview skills, like Georgetown's VPI Working Solutions. "We're seeing our clients being more prepared and comfortable with the on- line hiring process," said senior branch manager Misty Knight. "We're work- ing with them through in- terview prep on video plat- forms." While VPI's office re- mains closed to the public, Knight and her staff have been busy hosting events like virtual job fairs and online workshops, cover- ing topics such as digital literacy and occupational research. They're also helping connect those who need computers with re- sources through the Hal- ton Hills Public Library. With no clear end in sight yet to the pandemic, COVID-19 concerns contin- ue to shape the way some people look for work, said Knight, such as those who don't want to be in close quarters with others on public transit or parents keeping their children home to do online school- ing. "Job seekers are turning away from geography-spe- cific opportunities and are much more open to remote work." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As the pandemic presents unique challenges for job hunters in Halton and beyond, we turned to local experts to find out more about employment prospects in a COVID-19 era and how residents are adapting. NEWS Continued from page 1 MID-LEVEL POSITIONS HARD TO COME BY "It's a matter of finding those transferable skills that are important across all industries." - Kate Teves