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Hundreds look for jobs at Edmonton's new airport mall

Edmontonians looking for work in the retail and service sectors flocked to a job fair for a soon-to-open outlet mall near the Edmonton International Airport Saturday.

General manager of the Premium Outlet Collection Edmonton International Airport, Jason Bos, said hundreds turned out for the job fair, where 40 retailers are hiring ahead of the mall's May 2 opening.

"We've exceeded our expectations. Before we were even open, there was a line-up outside the door, so we're very pleased with the turn out here at the job fair," he said.

More than 1,000 positions are up for grabs, including part-time and full-time retail jobs and positions in the mall's guest services department.

Crystal McEwan, a university student, is looking for a summer job.

"I think this is really great for the city," she said. "It's providing a thousand jobs for people."

She's not worried about getting out to the Leduc-county based shopping centre.

"I don't think it's any worse than say, having a job at West Edmonton Mall from where I live," she said. "So I don't think it's an issue to get here."

Marko Prasad, the area manager for Levi's in Alberta and B.C., said he's doing on-site interviews and on-the-spot hiring. He hired 10 people on Saturday and is looking for more part-time staff.

"This is one of the best turnouts for a job fair that I've been involved in," he said.

Large anchor retail stores at the outlet mall include Designer Shoe Warehouse, F21, H&M, Nike Factory, Old Navy and Marshall. A total of 70 retailers are expected to open by the summer.

Bos advises people planning to attend the job fair on Sunday to go early. It's at the Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m

The mall is offering a free shuttle to the job fair from Century Park LRT.