Job fair to include more than 40 employers


If you go:

When: 2-6 p.m Tuesday

Where: Hollenbeck-Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center, 275 S. Limestone St., Springfield

Cost: Free for prospective employees

In-depth coverage

You can count on the Springfield News-Sun to keep you up to date on all local major job and economy news.

A job fair Tuesday will pack Clark State Community College’s Hollenbeck-Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center as more than 40 area businesses try to fill hundreds of vacant positions in manufacturing and other industries.

The job market in Clark County is slowly improving, and 42 companies snapped up all of the available space at the event as they try to fill vacancies in a variety of fields, said Amy Donahoe, director of hiring and employer services at the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce. So many companies expressed an interest in the event, Donahoe said she started a waiting list and will post the additional jobs online and at the OhioMeansJobs of Clark County table at the event.

Local officials also emailed more than 3,000 prospective employees in the region and will post flyers throughout the city to make area residents aware of the event. The chamber is also trying to work with local schools to get the information out to students and their families.

“We’re just really trying to be very strategic in getting the word out,” Donahoe said.

It’s not clear how many residents are expected to attend, but recent job fairs have drawn as many as 500 job seekers, Donahoe said. The event is being sponsored by the chamber and OhioMeansJobs.

Many of the jobs available will be in manufacturing, but Donahoe said several other industries and types of jobs will be included as well. The jobs range from managerial positions to customer service, warehouse positions and health care, among others.

“There’s hundreds of jobs that will be represented at this event on Tuesday,” Donahoe said.

Pentaflex Inc. will be looking for press operators and assemblers, said Terry Hendricks, human resources manager. A metal stamping firm in Springfield, Pentaflex is expecting a stronger demand from customers than in recent years, and is looking for employees with experience in manufacturing.

“We’re just looking to see what’s out there and to see if we can fill some spots,” Hendricks said.

Palmer Manufacturing and Supply, Inc., also based in Springfield, is looking to fill positions in everything from machine assembly to quality control and customer service, said Amelia Murdoch, service coordinator at Palmer. The company is one of the largest foundry equipment suppliers in the world, she said, and is looking to add between 10 and 20 employees.

The economy is slowly improving, and companies are increasingly beginning to compete for qualified employees, Donahoe said.

“Employers have to try to figure out how to be competitive with each other to capture that wonderful employee or to retain that person,” Donahoe said.

About the Author