By Beacon Staff
It was a record breaking day for the Southeast Iowa Jobs Fair at Westland Mall, Thursday, May 5.
Roughly 100 employers attended the show, according to Carolyn Farley, operations manager for IowaWORKS. The IowaWorks Burlington office hosted Thursday’s event, and Farley said it was the organization’s first major job fair since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.
“I would say this is the biggest turnout of businesses we’ve ever had at a job fair,” she said.
There was a healthy mix of private and public employers, including the Burlington Fire Department, Burlington Police Department and Henry County Sheriff’s Office on the public side.
“Nearly all of them are businesses that are hiring. There are a few service agencies sprinkled throughout. We have opportunities in health care, manufacturing, retail. Basically, anything that anybody want is here,” Farley said.
Brianda Giovanazzi, who works in bilingual human resources for TriOak Foods, said she had already seen plenty of traffic at her table by 10:30 a.m. The job fair had started just half an-hour earlier, and ended at 1 p.m.
“I think, like every other employer here, we are really short on staff. More specifically, agricultural positions. Those are very hard to staff currently,” she said.
TriOak Foods is a pork producer, feed manufacturer and grain marketer serving Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Oklahoma. Current operations include corporate offices in Oakville and Ames, three feed mills, four grain elevators and sow operations in Iowa, Illinois, Colorado and Oklahoma. TriOak also has partnerships with more than 300 local farmers who grow pigs to market-size.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know what business we are in, because we’re in a small town. We’re just trying to get our name out there. We are actually a lot bigger than what most people think,” Giovanazzi said.
Ruben Renteria Sr., who recently retired from Burlington School District after serving 26 years as a custodian, walked out of Thursday’s job fair with bag full of job applications. Despite being retired, he’s not done working.
“I’m looking for a job to keep here to keep me busy. Keep me occupied,” he said.
With a bit of luck, he feels like that’s exactly what he found.
“They have some really great people here. There’s all kinds of jobs,” he said.
IowaWORKS was joined by several partners, including Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Greater Burlington Partnership, Lee County Economic Development, Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance, Louisa County Economic Development Group, and Iowa National Guard.