With low unemployment, dozens of industries look to fill immediate job openings at Utah Valley job fair
Sandy Lee, right, and Yoonji Lee, both recent graduates of Brigham Young University–Hawaii, talk with Thien Nguyen, of Jolt, as Aria Hemphill, in red, talks with Shane Murphy, also of Jolt, during the Utah Valley Job Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. Jolt is a company that provides employee management software for businesses. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Ben Collett, left, of Mountainland Applied Technology College, talks with Samuel Kunkel, of Springville, as Mark Middlebrook, also of MATC, talks with another attendee during the Utah Valley Job Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Devin Collins, of Provo, fills out a job application during the Utah Valley Job Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Kay Smith listens to Nate Oldham, of Discovery Academy, speak during the Utah Valley Job Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Andrew Coffman, of Northwestern Mutual, takes a phone call during the Utah Valley Job Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Brad Findeis, of Cencore, talks with attendees during the Utah Valley Job Fair on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Though Utah County boasts one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, there was still a solid turnout of job seekers Wednesday at the Utah Valley Job Fair.
This is the fourth year for the job fair at the Utah Valley Convention Center, and it’s grown since its beginning. What started out with about 40 employer booths now features more than 120 employers from very diverse industries.
In attendance were representatives from health care, hospitality, schools, manufacturing and industrial factories, insurance, governments, laboratories, customer service and call centers, schools and software companies. All of them had immediate job openings.
Paul Rooker, human resources director for Schaeffer Industries in Lindon, said he came to the fair to recruit production and manufacturing employees. He said it’s hard to find and retain workers for the company, which manufactures the steel highway posts people drive by every day.
“Not a lot of people want to do the work we need. It’s hard work, there’s a lot of heavy lifting and it’s dirty. But it’s very rewarding for those who enjoy it,” Rooker said.
Schaeffer Industries is a small business, but the need for consistent employees is high. Rooker said new employees start by stacking the finished posts, but then are cross-trained on all aspects of running the manufacturing line, “so somebody’s not stuck stacking steel every day.”
Todd Russell, academic relations manager at IM Flash, said they were at the event to find workers with unique skill sets as well. IM Flash, he said, is always looking for electronic technicians. He’d already interviewed a very solid prospect at the job fair Wednesday, but he said that’s very rare.
“For every one tech that comes out of the schools, 10 more are needed. We end up paying for headhunters and hiring from out of state,” Russell said.
Economists at the Department of Workforce Services, one of the organizers of the event, said most industries are struggling for workers right now. When the unemployment rate drops and employers are forced to compete for a limited labor supply, all industries are impacted, they explained. Their numbers indicate that over the past couple years, the number of jobs has grown at more than 5 percent, but the population has only grown about 2 percent.
A good benefit of this competition for workers is Utah employers are upping their wages and compensation to attract the talent they need. According to Workforce Services, Utah County average monthly wages have increased significantly over the last few quarters of data. In the past year, Utah County wages have jumped 7.7 percent.
That is good news for the many job seekers who came to the event to drop off resumes and exchange contact information with employers. Even part-time workers are seeing higher wages.
The event only lasted four hours, but for many, it was time well spent on both sides. The benefit, as one employer representative explained, was summed up with, “Sometimes you get lucky.”