Pittsfield officials planning job fair for region’s employers

PITTSFIELD – On the heels of a well-attended and highly praised business forum, and a local job fair that attracted more than 900 applicants for a single company, Pittsfield officials will hold a more widespread, regional job fair.

“The business forum was a big hit, with a lot of information available in one room that would take days to weeks to obtain otherwise,” Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said Monday. She also said that the high turnout for the local job fair indicated a great need.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for people seeking employment and those individuals looking for a new career to be able to meet with all interested companies,” Ruth said. “We also know that looking for employees can be very costly for local businesses as well as time-consuming. This [job fair] will provide an opportunity for businesses to meet with as many people seeking employment in a short period of time.”

In addition to face-to-face meetings between companies and prospective employees, several workshops also will be held that will assist unemployed or underemployed workers.

Ruth also said that the fair could be an opportunity for service-oriented businesses to network with other businesses that require their services.

Already, Ruth said Monday, 10 businesses or staffing agencies, which hire for some larger corporations, have booked space and several more have confirmed verbally.

“We have seen considerable excitement over the event,” Ruth said. “This is a very low-cost method of recruitment for the businesses that attend and they will literally have the ability to see hundreds of prospective employees.”

Ruth said that the higher the business participation, the more employees it will draw. “The event will also feature resource providers, free workshops, information for businesses looking to expand or grow and the ability for businesses to network,” she said.

The fair is being offered by the town of Pittsfield and the Somerset County Transition Team, which was formed when San Antonio Shoe announced earlier this year that more than 140 employees would lose their jobs when the factory closes by August.

Women, Work and Community is organizing the resource providers.

Registration for the fair is free. Any employer who wants to set up a table or interview area should contact Ruth at 487-3187, the town office, or at townmanager@pittsfield.org.

The fair will be held from 3:30 to 8 p.m. at the Warsaw Middle School gymnasium on School Street in Pittsfield. School Street is the second left when heading east on Somerset Avenue from Exit 150 of Interstate 95.