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Career resource expo at ECC aims to aid job seekers

Workshops to cover job-related topics
By Matt Glynn

 
 If the region’s jobless rate is any indication, the first Western New York Career Resource Expo is arriving at just the right time.

The free event, a combination of expert advice, panel discussions and networking opportunities for job seekers, is scheduled for 1 p. m. to 5 p. m. on Aug. 12 at Erie Community College’s downtown campus on Ellicott Street.

Planning for the expo began months ago, but the employment picture underscores the demand for job-search help. Buffalo Niagara’s jobless rate in June was 8.9 percent, up sharply from 5.6 percent a year earlier.

The expo is designed to help people in the market for a job “to learn how to be the best job-seeker they can be,” said Judith Applebaum, interim director of the University at Buffalo’s Office of Career Services.

Organizers suggest those who attend bring resumes. Human resources experts will be on hand to provide individual critiques.

More than 100 human resources and career experts will present about 70 workshops covering a range of job-related topics, from interviewing skills and developing a professional image to starting a business and succeeding in the civil service process, Applebaum said.

Panel discussions will be held on topics like green jobs and what employers are looking for.

So far, about 40 employers have signed up to participate in informal networking at the event. Some of the employers have openings while others will talk about job opportunities they see in the future, Applebaum said.

“This is a great foot in the door for people and a chance to learn,” she said.

The goal is to help job seekers at all levels, Applebaum said. For instance, the expo will teach job hunters how to use computers to help them find the right job, even if they have never used a computer before.

Applebaum said she is thrilled with the response from human resources and career experts who will participate in the expo. “It’s so heartwarming to see so many people step up and volunteer their time,” she said.

The event is being organized by the Western New York Association of College Career Centers, the Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association, and the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

Applebaum said one area with hiring prospects is the federal government. She recently attended a conference of federal government agency recruiters and said the agencies told her they were actively hiring, and not just for positions in Washington, D. C.

The New York State Department of Labor rates a number of fields with “very favorable” employment prospects to 2016. Among the higher-paying job categories with the most annual average openings are registered nurses, elementary school teachers, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, and bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks.

In the short term, there is seasonal hiring under way in sectors such as construction, said John Slenker, regional economist with the state Labor Department.

Fields such as health care remain a source of activity, Slenker said. There are also opportunities in education and government, although even with the influx of stimulus funds, there are still budget constraints on state and local government.

Slenker said job seekers should keep perspective on the current conditions. Even amid a recession, “you still have turnover, you still have people retiring.”

“The biggest thing you have to do is don’t get discouraged, and keep looking,” he said.

mglynn@buffnews.com