McADOO - Denise Logan was a job seeker at the Great Northeast Job Fair 2013. At this year's fair, the Schuylkill County woman was a recruiter - for the company she got a job with from last year's event.
Hundreds of job seekers met Logan and about 50 other job providers and educational institutions at the Great Northeast Job Fair 2014, held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Capriotti's Palazzo on Tresckow Road between McAdoo and Tresckow.
Logan, Cressona, had a resume prepared when she arrived at last year.
"I had targeted a few different vendors that I wanted to stop and talk to based on my construction background," Logan said. "They were looking for field workers. We got talking about an administrative position. We got hooked up a couple months later. We made arrangements for an interview. I was hired in September of last year."
S&S Structures, based in Blandon, Berks County, erects steel buildings and was at this year's event again looking for field laborers to put the buildings up.
"It's a laborious job," Logan said. "It's all outdoors, in all kinds of weather. You work at all kinds of heights assembling, but you're in an aerial lift for a short period of time. A lot of the jobs are out of town. The work cycle is a little bit of a challenge for some people. We send their guys out to a job site for 11 days at a time. They come home for a weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so they are home every other weekend."
Karchner Logistics, one of nine warehouse and distribution firms at the fair, was one of the firms that made this year's event the first job fair the company had ever attended - because they are growing.
Harold Karchner, the company president, was impressed with the number of job seekers at the fair.
"There was no place to park," he said. "I'm shocked at how many people are here. It's good to see this many because we are not just hiring drivers. We need people in the warehouse. You can't just drive a forklift. We need people with skills with things like scanners."
The fair was sponsored by Osmose, a firm that hires foremen for road projects. Alicia Lemonier, recruiting and hiring coordinator for Osmose, said the company is growing in this area, and has a great need for personnel.
"With all of the growth we are having within the company right now, especially in this area, we are looking for good people who want to be their own boss, and have the opportunity to work for a stable company," Lemonier said.
Another growing firm at the fair was Pretium Packaging, Humboldt, one of 15 local industries who was looking for inspector packers, machine operators, forklift drivers and maintenance technicians.
"We would like to see people with plastic or blow-molding experience, but we start folks at the ground floor, and give them all of the training they need," company representative Tom Ensley said. "For the maintenance techs, those jobs are a little but more involved. We like a little welding and electrical (experience) and (someone who is) able to read blueprints."
"We're a growing business. We've put in six additional lines in the last year, and are trying to find new people," he said.
PSI Packaging Services, located near Capriotti's in the McAdoo Industrial Park, was at the fair for another year because of success the company has had finding workers in the past.
"We are looking for machine operators, and maintenance and sales personnel," Debbie Harvilla, the company's human resources administrator and customer service manager, said. "The past two years we've been here, we have retained some individuals. It was a positive thing. That's why we're back again."
Job seekers
Jessica Morgan, Shenandoah, was looking for a production job, while Charlene Davidson, also of Shenandoah, was looking for production work or a position helping the elderly in an assisted living environment.
Regional Hospital of Scranton, an affiliate of Commonwealth Health Care, was one of about 15 health care/elder care firms at the fair, and a co-sponsor of the fair, along with AutoZone.
Gretchen Eagen, recruiting and retention specialist for Regional Hospital, said her firm wanted to be a co-sponsor to spread the word about job opportunities it has all over Northeastern Pennsylvania.
First-timers
There were several first-time vendors at the fair, including Quad Graphics, the Humboldt Industrial Park firm that prints telephone directories, who was looking for entry-level finishing technicians, press assistants and bindery assistants
"It is working out really well," Dawna Antolick, a company representative for Quad Graphics, said. "The setup is wonderful, and the location is good. We are very happy with the participation."
Executive Cleaning and Supply, a firm that cleans commercial and industrial sites, mostly in the Valmont and Humboldt industrial parks, was another first-timer at the fair.
Lisa Huston, a company representative, said the firm was looking for people to clean - but people with the right attitude.
"We clean offices, sweeping and mopping, stripping and waxing floors, and carpet shampooing," Huston said. "We have some full-time, but most of our workers are part-time. There are morning hours and evening hours. We are looking for people with the right attitude who want to work and are able to work the hours."
John Patton, the Standard-Speaker's general manager, said the whole idea of the fair was for people to get jobs.
"We'd like to thank all of the vendors who participated," Patton said. "We hope, in some small way, we put together people looking for a job with people who had jobs available."
For more information on the fair, visit www.greatnortheastjobfair.com.