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Fair provides opportunity

HANNAH KITTLE The Marietta Times Britney Cowgill, assistant administrator of the Arbors at Marietta, and Brooke Sims, administrative coordinator of the Arbors at Marietta, talk with Larry Wolfe, 62, of Williamstown at the Mid-Ohio Valley Job and Resource Fair on Thursday.

Washington-Morgan Community Action alongside Ohio Means Jobs hosted the fourth-annual Mid-Ohio Valley Job and Resource Fair at the Washington County Junior Fair Building on Thursday to help employers and potential employees meet.

“We have the fair because several of us work with individuals and several of us work with employers and we see the need on both sides, so we want to bring them together,” said Wendy Ketelson, senior employment and training specialist with Washington-Morgan Community Action.

There were multiple opportunities for job seekers to meet with potential employers at the fair, according to Matt Smith, workforce specialist with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Workforce Development.

“We have 51 employers and resource folks that are participating,” said Smith.

Additionally, Ketelson said there was a new addition to the fair in regards to the resource area where the Washington County Public Library, the Health Care Navigator for the Affordable Care Act, Building Bridges to Careers, Buckeye Hills-Hocking Valley Regional District, Washington-Morgan Community Action and more were located to assist job seekers at the fair.

“This is the first year we have added resources,” said Ketelson. “People in the community are at tables set up to provide resources for seekers, also.”

She noted that they previously asked employers who had registered to be hiring within the next six to nine months before presenting at the fair.

“That’s kind of encouraging when people come,” she explained. “Hopefully, they will be following that and they will be hiring.”

As job seekers filtered in and met with employers, many said they felt encouraged by the number of jobs available at the fair and the opportunity to meet with them in person.

“I came to see what all was offered,” explained Dakota Pyatt, 22, of Fleming. “I like to talk one-on-one with people, so it gives people like me a chance to come out and talk to employers.”

Other locals said it was important for the community because finding jobs is already difficult and the fair helps by having a central location for those searching to find employment.

“It’s important to show the community that everybody is trying to hire local people,” said Dale Doebereiner, 29, of Waterford. “It’s nice to actually meet someone you might get employed with.”

Larry Wolfe, 62, of Williamstown, employment specialist at Pathways Employment Solutions, said the fair is helpful especially in his line of work when he is helping his clients find employment.

“I have people on my caseload that I’m here to help them find employment,” he said. “You get all the employers in one location and the job seekers are able to get them in one stop.”

Joanna Rauch, 48, of Little Hocking, also noted the easy access to employers and said she needed a job, so she came to the fair where there were many employers at once.

“We don’t always know who is hiring and who we are looking for,” she said. “It gives me the opportunity to find all of them in one place.”

Rauch said she is looking for employment that will help her stay close to home.

“I’m looking for something that involves working with other folks where I don’t have to go out of town often for because I have too much life at home,” she said.

Doebereiner, on the other hand, said he was looking for something in the oil and gas industry.

“I know they had some oil and gas jobs,” he said, noting he has a degree in petroleum engineering. “I heard it on the radio and figured I could come in.”

Employers said they also felt that the fair was a good opportunity for job seekers as well as the employers themselves.

“It helps us because there is a lot of competition in the area with what we do,” said Nicole Clatterbuck, human resource director at Interim HealthCare.

Western and Southern Life Staff Manager Tina Stellfox said the fair highlights that they are eager to hire more people.

“We’re looking to hire a couple hundred by the end of the year,” she said. “We are actively seeking qualified people to bring on board.”

Briana Hall, Ohio Department of Transportation human capital management senior analyst, also said the fair helps them in the hiring process.

“Right now, we are hiring for seasonal work; this helps us go out and meet all kinds of opportunities in the area because some of the positions are hard to fill.”

,” said Hall. “We get to put a face with the name when we receive the applications, which most definitely helps.”

For help with resumes

¯For more information, job seekers can call the Ohio Means Jobs Center at 740-434-0758 or can visit the center at 1115 Gilman Ave., Suite B, Marietta.

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