RIO GRANDE — OhioMeansJobs hosted the Southeastern Ohio Regional Job Fair at the University of Rio Grande, with help from agencies and employers from a five-county area to help job seekers and employers meet.
Meigs, Jackson, Gallia, Vinton and Ross counties Job and Family Services offices aided in the event’s endeavors Wednesday inside the university’s Lyne Center Gymnasium. The Gallia County Economic Development Office also partnered to aid in the event’s success.
With 64 businesses making appearances, job seekers were able to gather applications, information and even do some brief interviews with prospective employers looking to fill their ranks in the world of business and commerce.
“We had 220 job seekers preregister for the event,” Gallia County Economic Development Office director Melissa Clark said. “We’ve had a very steady flow of (visitors) since 10 a.m. The event is really geared toward anybody. The opportunity of having (the event) at the university really gets the students engaged to see what’s out there with their degree programs. And again, (the event is also geared toward) job seekers in the entire region who may be underemployed right now or looking for work. It’s really for everybody.”
According to Clark, representatives from manufacturing, health care, trucking, work-at-home jobs, law enforcement, security as well as military career areas appeared at the fair with a slew of others.
Clark said companies with the biggest growth in the region extended to the health care industry, especially in the in-home care business. She felt career opportunities in health care would only continue to grow as the baby boomer generation retired from working fields. She also felt law enforcement, corrections and security positions could be some of the most competitive positions job seekers would seek out. The fields require training that could be offered by local educational institutes and offered good opportunities despite needing certifications.
“Connecting employers and future employees is our goal,” said Dana Glassburn, director of Gallia County Job and Family Services.
“Getting people jobs. That’s the whole bottom line for today,” Clark agreed with him. Both individuals agreed that job seekers should take the time to visit ohiomeansjobs.com. Glassburn especially emphasized the need for people to create strong resumes and make use of Internet employment services as job fairs were some of the few standing opportunities left for individuals to find employment by speaking with employers physically. He said “everything is heading to the Internet.”
According to Julia Coyan with Jackson County Jobs and Family Services, roughly 11,000 jobs can be found within a 50- mile radius of Rio Grande. She and her comrades sat at one end of the gymnasium aiding job seekers navigate the OhioMeansJobs website. “We’re here to promote OhioMeansJobs. It’s the state’s job-matching system,” Coyan said. “It’s powered by Monster. It not only gives you job postings, but a whole gambit of job search tools. There are pages for veterans. People can practice interviewing. You can look for labor market information and see what the in-demand careers are. You can also see the projected job growth of careers up to 2022.”
According to the OhioMeansJobs website, roughly 192,000 jobs currently exist in Ohio.
Dean Wright can be reached at (740) 446-2342, Ext. 2103.
