About 2,000 jobs were available to the approximately 250 job seekers who attended the fifth annual Jefferson County Job Fair on May 31 at the Fox C-6 Service Center in Arnold, said Margie Sammons, an Arnold Chamber of Commerce board member and one of the event organizers.
The Job Fair included 40 businesses and organizations seeking to hire people.
“We had great interest from the employers,” Sammons said. “A majority of the employers returned for another year. They feel it is a worthwhile event, or they wouldn’t be back for a fifth year.
“A lot of the job seekers seemed excited about being here. They seemed to believe it was a good way to locate employment.”
The Job Fair was presented by Express Employment Professionals and was sponsored by Leader Publications, Jefferson College, the Arnold Chamber of Commerce, the Fox C-6 School District, the city of Arnold and the Jefferson County Library.
“Great partnerships with many area organizations and businesses have allowed this event to be held every year since 2019,” Leader publisher Peggy Scott said.
“We believe the Job Fair provides a fantastic opportunity to connect those seeking employees with potential candidates in a number of different fields. It also provides a great opportunity for someone new to the job market or seeking a career change to learn about resources to help them find a job.”
Joseph Wieland, 33, of Imperial, a licensed EMT at Total Access Urgent Care, said he attended the fair because he is looking to re-enter a career in engineering.
“I have a degree from (the University of Missouri-Rolla, which is now called the Missouri University of Science and Technology) in nuclear engineering,” he said. “I worked in power plants for about seven years. I am looking to see if there are opportunities for engineering or project management. That way I can provide a little more for my family, and also maybe give my wife (Tina) a break from being a travel nurse.”
Another attendee, Cathy Mueller, 53, who moved to Arnold from Illinois about two months ago, said she is looking for a change.
“I am a nurse,” she said. “It could be a change in nursing or outside of nursing. There were a couple of people I spoke with about opportunities. It was a positive experience.”
Melissa Pries, a human resource assistant for Sunnen, said this year was the first time her hole-boring company participated in the Jefferson County Job Fair.
She said it was a good experience.
“Jefferson County seems to be a hot spot for people who are looking for career changes right now,” she said. “We landed about three candidates in the first 30 minutes. They are going to come in and tour with us. We are having great conversations, and that is positive for us.”
This also was the first year for the Jefferson County Library to join as one of the fair’s sponsors. The library provided packets filled with resources for job seekers, shared information about library resources to help job seekers find employment and signed up eligible attendees for library cards.
Meredith McCarthy, the Arnold branch manager, said the library offers online databases that include the Resume and Cover Letter Builder from Learning Express; ONet, which facilitates career exploration; VetNow from BrainFuse, which supports veterans entering civilian careers; resources for digital and computer skills; and more. The library offers public access computers. Also, people may check out a wifi hotspot to take home.
“Each year, we try to add something we feel like a job seeker needs to fulfill their goal of employment,” Sammons said. “We will continue to try to expand and make as many resources as possible available for someone seeking a position.”
Cody Ballah, owner of Express Employment Professionals, said he is not surprised at the Job Fair’s continued popularity.
“I think good companies are always desperate to find some good talent,” he said. “I think it is critically important to have job fairs. It brings face value to what has become a digital age of an endless hole of applying online. It is nice to put a face to a name.”