Job Fair Beats Attendance Records

By VERNON ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

Previous attendance records were shattered last week at a quarterly Job Fair held at the Rising Star Sports Ranch resort in Mesquite. The event, which took place on Wednesday, August 16, was organized and put on by Mesquite Works, a workforce development organization servicing the northeastern Clark County communities.
“It was the best attendance that we have seen yet at our Job Fairs,” said Mesquite Works Vista Volunteer Maggie Calhoun, who coordinates the Job Fairs for the group. “It was just over the top. We were very pleased with the turnout.”

Calhoun said that 195 job seekers were in attendance. That was compared to 179 at the group’s February Job Fair event and 102 at its second Job Fair held in May.
Among the job seekers was David Chandler of Overton. Chandler came looking for employment accompanied by his daughter Amy who will be heading off to college at BYU Idaho in the coming weeks.
“It has been good,” Chandler said of the Job Fair. “I feel like I have had a warm welcome here from the different companies. And I have talked to several employers and filled out a number of applications.”

The number of employers was also high with representatives from 18 different companies or entities in attendance. Calhoun said that vendor surveys taken at the event showed the employers were pleased with the results of the Fair. “They were happy to see a solid stream of applicants throughout the morning,” Calhoun said. “Several vendors even needed expedited copies made of their application because it was so brisk.”

Things were definitely moving fast for Kim Woolsey, HR Administrator for Primex Plastics in Mesquite. She said that she had already hired four applicants within the first hour of the Fair.
“These events have been awesome for me!” Woolsey said. She has attended all three Job Fairs this year. “It gives us a great value for the money. And I love that they are holding them four times a year instead of just annually.”

Woolsey reported that she had experienced similar success in earlier Job Fairs. At the May event, she hired no less than six people, three of which were young people just graduating from Moapa Valley High School.

Also in attendance was U.S. Army recruiter Jason Livermore of St. George. He said that he enjoys attending Job Fairs like this one because it gives him a chance to talk to young people about the benefits that the Army provides.
“A lot of times I am talking to high school students about what they are going to do for the future,” Livermore said. “They want to go on and get more education, but they are set back somewhat by the cost.”

Livermore said that many of these young people are drawn by the idea of having their college paid for by the military. “They can join the Reserves and spend one weekend a month on duty, all while getting all or most of their college paid for. It is a great opportunity.”

There were several employers that were entirely new to the Mesquite Works Job Fair idea. These included companies like Kokopelli Landscaping and Nexeo Solutions, a job placement firm in St. George.
“I know that both of those said that they were delighted with the event,” Calhoun said.
Also new to the Job Fair was Aquatic Bathware in Moapa. Aquatics Health Safety and Environmental Coordinator Kara Mendoza was talking to candidates and said that it had been a productive time.
“This is my first time at one of these and it has been really good,” Mendoza said. “Meeting face to face with people in a setting like this definitely has advantages over just posting ads somewhere and having people call in.”

Calhoun said that in addition to the high quantity of job seekers, employers had also commented on the quality of applicants in attendance. “The comments that we got back from our vendors was that the applicants they saw were generally better prepared and more forthcoming when talking to them than what they usually see,” Calhoun said. “I was so happy to hear that. Those are the kinds of bread crumbs that keep you fed when you are organizing these types of events.”

And continuing on the subject of a well-developed workforce, Calhoun pointed out that the Mesquite Works organization also had a table at the Job Fair offering to schedule classes and workshops to help polish job seekers’ presentation. Classes offered by Mesquite Works include Resume Writing, Interviewing Skills, Attire for Hire, and Job Readiness to name a few.
“We had 28 people who signed up for our free classes,” Calhoun said. “That is tremendous! People are learning that we can be of service to them; both job seekers and employers. So that was good to see.”

Calhoun emphasized the importance of community volunteers in keeping the Job Fair working smoothly. She said that there were 13 volunteers who helped out through the day, registering job seekers at the door, seeing to the needs of vendors and just helping out where needed. “We couldn’t have done any of it without our volunteers,” she said.

Calhoun also raved about the service provided by the Rising Star Resort. “It is a great site for this event,” she said. “And they took such good care of us in whatever we needed. That was so appreciated.”

Mesquite Works is a community-based organization that provides tools and training that lead to meaningful employment and self-sufficiency at a living wage. It is run entirely by community volunteers. The office is located at 312 W. Mesquite Blvd. Suite 102. Office hours during the summer are Tuesday – Thursday 9 am to 1 pm. Or appointments may be made by calling 702-613-0699.