By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Even though unemployment may be low, employers looking for job candidates did find a few at Wednesday at the town’s annual Riverside Employment Fair, held at the Riverside Middle School.
Thirty-nine employers filled the school gymnasium during the afternoon, with the River Valley Workforce Investment Board, the main producer, hoping for more than 250 prospective job candidates from Windsor and Windham counties in Vermont, and Sullivan County in New Hampshire. Few candidates were seen during an afternoon visit, but many booths did report applications.
ADA Traffic Control was looking for about 20 people, and manager Jerry Fitzgerald said he was seeking candidates “slow but sure.” Flagger jobs with the company do require a driver’s license and vehicle, however, and not everybody who inquired had them, he said.
“There’s been a few people, some people who know people took my information,” said Gene Woodcock, an admission counselor with Northlands Job Corps.
“I’m offering free training for young people,” he said, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Labor.
Over at the Vermont Packaging booth, office assistant Leslie LeClair and human resources manager Karen Murray explained their meat processing company to people.
“It’s production type work,” said LeClair, “We’ve had several people stop by, yes. Several people finding out about us and what we do.”
Vermont Packaging was one of several employers who have participated in this job fair for multiple years. Murray acknowledged what seemed like a lesser turnout this year. “I haven’t seen as many people as I have in the past when I’ve done it, but that’s been a few years,” she said.
LeClair wondered if later hours, such as 3 to 7 p.m. to accommodate workers, might produce more people coming out. Asked about this later, Springfield Regional Development Corporation Executive Director Bob Flint said that while that idea may seem intuitive, the fact is that this event has indeed tried different times and hours, but there hasn’t been much impact on turnout by doing so.
A Chester employer, Newsbank, is a “company that takes magazine and newspaper information and makes research databases out of them” for schools and libraries, said staffer Jennifer Craig. She said she was looking for people to fill maintenance solution jobs, entry level computer positions and other technical jobs.
“I have a couple of resumes, I passed out a lot of applications, a lot of the tech kids came in right off the bat,” she said.
Asked about her previous experience with the event, Craig said, “This is my third time … we’ve taken a few applications from here. It depends on what we are looking for at the time.”
Many booths commented that students from Riverside Middle School, Springfield High School and four other schools seemed to come first, nearer to the beginning of the fair, while working adults showed up later.
The consortium that presents the fair also includes the River Valley Technical Center, the Springfield Regional Development Corporation and the Vermont Department of Labor. It is sponsored by Springfield Medical Care Systems.
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