Jobseekers and employers from across LaPorte County gathered at Blue Chip Casino on Thursday for the 7th Annual Michigan City Community Job Fair.
Co-hosted by La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership (LEAP), WorkOne Northwest Indiana, the Michigan City Chamber of Commerce, and Economic Development Corporation Michigan City, the fair showcased career opportunities in a diverse range of industries. Businesses in manufacturing, healthcare, education, law enforcement, food service, finance, and more all set up shop to answer questions, share information, or even do impromptu interviews.
“The turnout from our local employers is awesome,” said Erik Nelson, workforce development coordinator at LEAP. “They’re looking for people who are ready to work and when people looking for careers come out to events like this - that gives them hope. Sometimes looking for jobs can be daunting and arduous but if you come to a place like this, it really gives you an opportunity to find a new career.”
Nelson noted that the expanded array of employers at the fair came from a development new to this year’s rendition of the event.
“We’ve always done job fairs in La Porte and Michigan City’s always done their own fairs out here, Blue Chip is a great venue for that,” he said. “Until now we’ve largely worked in our own silos for these, so we thought it’d be a good idea to put our heads together this time. We’ve combined forces, and the plan is that we’ll come together again for another hiring event out in La Porte later this year.”
One of La Porte’s biggest employers, the La Porte Community School Corporation, shared information about some of their opportunities – which extend far beyond teaching careers.
“We like being able to meet people face-to-face because it gives us an opportunity to get to know our community because we don’t always know the people who don’t have kids,” said Gina Teets, director of human resources at La Porte Community School Corporation. “We can talk to them and find out all kinds of things. Maybe they don’t know that they want to be a bus driver, but once we talk to them they say ‘hey, those early morning and late afternoon hours work for me,’ or ‘great, I get to work during school hours so this is perfect for me to be home when my kids are.’ It lets us fit people with jobs that fit them.”
Teets mentioned that there is always a positive atmosphere at community job fairs, with job seekers eager to explore their opportunities.
“People are optimistic,” she said. “We have a good group of people who ask a lot of good questions. They want to find something, and people these days are a lot more selective about finding jobs that fit them.”
There were other resources on hand as well, such as Ivy Tech Community College. Their team shared information not only for job seekers but anyone looking to build their skillset and improve their chances for a fruitful career.
“I think that everybody needs to continue looking for learning opportunities and chances to increase their skills,” said Gina Alber, employer consultant with Ivy+ Career Link at Ivy Tech. “We should never stop learning, and we can always look for new ways to do what you’re doing, but better. We can find new energy, knowledge, and excitement for the work that we do.”
To learn more about La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership, visit laportepartnership.com.
For more on WorkOne Northwest Indiana and its resources for jobseekers, please see gotoworkonenw.com.