An estimated 500 people were in attendance Wednesday afternoon at Fulton Montgomery Community College in Johnstown for the college’s annual spring job fair. Job seekers had the opportunity to meet with 70 employers and agencies to fill out applications, submit resume’s or just to talk about their skills. The event, which has been held annually for over twenty years was free to job seekers and employers.
“Awesome, a great turnout,” said FMCC Education and Career Planning Specialist Andrea Scribner who was in her second year of organizing the event. “Every year it grows.”
Businesses and agencies from Fulton, Montgomery, Saratoga, and surrounding counties filled up the tables and booths at the “Raiders Den” gymnasium and reported many visitors for the three-hour event.
“It’s been smooth” Liberty Enterprises Recruitment Coordinator Joe Santos said. “Twenty to thirty people stopped by.”
Liberty Enterprises was looking for direct support professionals to staff its residences in Montgomery County and surrounding areas. “People will be working directly with the customers we have,” Santos said. Other businesses reported plenty of applicants as well.
“About 45 applicants,” Bob Francisco, Human Resources Manager of Fonda based Temper Companies said. “A lot of great people who are willing to work. A great turnout today.”
With the amount of interest, organizers say it’s likely many of the employers will return next season.
“There’s been positive feedback,” Scribner said. “There are a lot of qualified applicants and the businesses come back every year. We’ve seen plenty of repeats among employers. That’s a good thing.”
Staffing agencies are among those that return as well. One representative pointed out a problem that many unemployed face at accessing jobs: transportation.
“This is a great job fair with a lot of eligible people,” Stephanie Heber of Queensbury based staffing agency Heber Associates Inc. said. “There’s a lot of people without jobs that if they got to Albany they could have jobs. Nobody has worked out the problem of transportation and parking.”
Another job fair expected to attract many job seekers will be The Martin Luther King Job Fair which will be held at The Egg in the Empire State Plaza, Albany on Thursday, April 17th from 12:30pm to 4:00pm.
