In this sluggish economy, jobs can be hard to come by. To promote employment opportunities in the area, the Española Valley Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with SL Start, hosted a job fair Aug. 30 at the Santa Claran Hotel.
The response was overwhelming as community members in search of work crowded the Mountain View Room at the Santa Claran to network with prospective employers and submit applications for work.
Daniel Rascon, 25, was impressed with the number of representatives available at the job fair but said the event could have been held at a larger venue.
“It’s a time of crisis,” Rascon said. “Everybody’s looking for a job. At a job fair, at least, it gives you a fighting chance to get a job.”
Michelle Barber, 19, who currently works at Taco Bell, attended the job fair to explore her opportunities. Barber said she appreciated the convenience of having the prospective employers located in one place, making her job search easier.
“I think it’s cool that they had a lot of people there to talk to instead of running around to a bunch of different places looking for a job,” Barber said.
Aaron LaBadie, 18, said there was a diverse selection of employment opportunities represented at the job fair.
“It was really busy and crowded,” LaBadie said. “There were a lot of places to apply to and a lot of options. They were really friendly, too.”
One of those friendly faces greeting local job seekers was Julie MacKenzie, human resources manager at Española Hospital.
“(It’s) helping people to become employed,” MacKenzie said of the fair. “It’s also great networking for citizens and residents to get to know each other.”
MacKenzie said most of the positions at the hospital require various levels of certification and education. However, the hospital currently has openings for a cook and home health aid, which require little previous experience or certification.
SL Start job developer Jim Schumaker said at least 400 residents attended the job fair, making the event an overwhelming success.
“The total number of individuals signed in was 392 but the number could be closer to 500 since not all individuals signed in,” he said. “The partnerships that have been established will benefit SL Start and our clients for a long time. These partnerships have not only opened the doors to many job possibilities, they have also opened the doors to many work experience sites.”
Schumaker praised Española Chamber of Commerce President Kelly Duran for his dedication to the city and said the event would not have been successful without Duran’s efforts.
Duran said he, too, was pleased with the large turnout.
“I was filled with mixed emotions, from excitement to feeling humbled,” Duran said. “A number of participants, and people attending said, ‘Thank you for doing this. This is what the community needed.’ These comments reinforced why we wanted to hold this event.”
While the large number of job fair attendees was impressive, Duran’s goal is to have fewer and fewer people attend each year.
“In the coming years, I want this event to grow smaller in size,” Duran said. “Why? Because it will show that we are making a difference, we are helping the unemployed become employed.
“There are currently over 1,600 people in Rio Arriba County that are unemployed and I know with just this event we helped a number of people land a job,” he said. “The HR from Santa Claran Hotel and Casino said that they will be hiring at least 10 new employees as a result. This was echoed by other employers.”
Schumaker said the turnout at last week’s job fair shows the demand in the community warrants another job fair to be held in the near future.
“Participation of businesses and individuals who attended this event shows the need to make this an annual or semi-annual event,” he said.
Duran agreed that there is an obvious need in the community for continued events that help local residents find work.
“Another employer inquired to hold an event like this and those discussions will be taking place with them,” he said.
On hand to speak with job seekers were representatives from the following companies: North Central Regional Transit District, Dominos Pizza, Team Builders Counseling Services, New Mexico Small Business Development Center, Rio Arriba County Detention, Walmart, New Mexico Workforce Community, Española Hospital, the U.S. Army and others.