Job Faire in West Sac Thursday, from the Aggie
Job fair to be held in West Sacramento on Thursday
Local employers to offer manufacturing and skilled labor positions
By: CAITLIN COBB
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: City News
Despite the dwindling employment opportunities statewide, hands-on jobs are being offered for residents and interested students living in Yolo County.
The One Stop Career Center - a unit of the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services - and the city of West Sacramento will host a job fair Mar. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The job fair will be held in the West Sacramento Galleria at 1110 West Capitol Ave.
Representatives from approximately 30 Sacramento area employers, apprenticeship programs and One Stop partners will be on hand to meet with job seekers, who are asked to bring their résumé.
"Job fairs like this are an avenue for Yolo County residents to access multiple employment possibilities in one location," said Pam Miller, director of the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services in a press release. "It is exciting to be able to bring numerous employers and job seekers together in one event, and it enables us to follow our vision of developing and strengthening the workforce in partnership with the community."
The One Stop Career Center is a place where local residents can find different resources that are essential to finding a job. The center offers a wide variety of services including anything from truck driving to résumé building workshops, said Art Rodriguez, supervisor for the One Stop Career Center.
"We're basically trying to create jobs for individuals that need work in the [Yolo County] area," Rodriguez said. "We try to do different types of job fairs throughout the year that cater to different careers."
The Mar. 6 job fair targets manufacturing and factory companies, and people with skills specific to those occupations will benefit most, he added.
A main goal of the job fair is to connect local employers and local job seekers to increase employment within the county, said Marc Marquez, senior employment specialist with the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services
"I would say it's pretty popular. The past few job fairs we've had here in Sac and Woodland have had just over 300 people," Marquez said.
While city officials may view the job fair as beneficial to local Yolo County community members, the size of student participation might be low, said Kay Nelson, coordinator of the UC Davis Internship and Career Center.
"No matter which career fair a student is selecting to go to, they should see what industries are going to be represented," Nelson said. "In this case, it looks like the job fair is targeted at local manufacturing … [and those jobs] don't necessarily require people to have college degrees."
Many of the employers at the career fair are looking for people with interest in hands-on work. While there is a certain profile of students who value this type of work, most UC Davis students will look for careers in more managerial positions where their college degree will be a factor, Nelson said.
Ames Fire and Waterworks said they are looking forward to exhibiting information about their company at the job fair in hopes of gaining community interest.
"Since this job fair is specific to manufacturing and skilled trades … it is going to target for me the type of workers that would work in our factory," said Chris Hartman, human resources manager of Ames Fire and Waterworks.
For more information, go to yoloworks.org.
CAITLIN COBB can be reached at city@californiaggie.com.
Local employers to offer manufacturing and skilled labor positions
By: CAITLIN COBB
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: City News
Despite the dwindling employment opportunities statewide, hands-on jobs are being offered for residents and interested students living in Yolo County.
The One Stop Career Center - a unit of the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services - and the city of West Sacramento will host a job fair Mar. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The job fair will be held in the West Sacramento Galleria at 1110 West Capitol Ave.
Representatives from approximately 30 Sacramento area employers, apprenticeship programs and One Stop partners will be on hand to meet with job seekers, who are asked to bring their résumé.
"Job fairs like this are an avenue for Yolo County residents to access multiple employment possibilities in one location," said Pam Miller, director of the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services in a press release. "It is exciting to be able to bring numerous employers and job seekers together in one event, and it enables us to follow our vision of developing and strengthening the workforce in partnership with the community."
The One Stop Career Center is a place where local residents can find different resources that are essential to finding a job. The center offers a wide variety of services including anything from truck driving to résumé building workshops, said Art Rodriguez, supervisor for the One Stop Career Center.
"We're basically trying to create jobs for individuals that need work in the [Yolo County] area," Rodriguez said. "We try to do different types of job fairs throughout the year that cater to different careers."
The Mar. 6 job fair targets manufacturing and factory companies, and people with skills specific to those occupations will benefit most, he added.
A main goal of the job fair is to connect local employers and local job seekers to increase employment within the county, said Marc Marquez, senior employment specialist with the Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services
"I would say it's pretty popular. The past few job fairs we've had here in Sac and Woodland have had just over 300 people," Marquez said.
While city officials may view the job fair as beneficial to local Yolo County community members, the size of student participation might be low, said Kay Nelson, coordinator of the UC Davis Internship and Career Center.
"No matter which career fair a student is selecting to go to, they should see what industries are going to be represented," Nelson said. "In this case, it looks like the job fair is targeted at local manufacturing … [and those jobs] don't necessarily require people to have college degrees."
Many of the employers at the career fair are looking for people with interest in hands-on work. While there is a certain profile of students who value this type of work, most UC Davis students will look for careers in more managerial positions where their college degree will be a factor, Nelson said.
Ames Fire and Waterworks said they are looking forward to exhibiting information about their company at the job fair in hopes of gaining community interest.
"Since this job fair is specific to manufacturing and skilled trades … it is going to target for me the type of workers that would work in our factory," said Chris Hartman, human resources manager of Ames Fire and Waterworks.
For more information, go to yoloworks.org.
CAITLIN COBB can be reached at city@californiaggie.com.