Job fair draws hundreds

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune More than 60 agencies of potential employers attended a job fair hosted by Madera County Workforce at Hatfield Hall at the Madera District Fairgrounds on Thursday.

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Hundreds of Maderans and dozens of employers came to the Madera District Fairgrounds for the Madera County Job Fair last week.

The fair at Hatfield Hall saw more than 60 employers in jobs ranging from food service to law enforcement, meet with Madera County residents looking for work Thursday morning.

The event was sponsored by the Madera County Department of Social Services and was staffed by the Madera County Workforce Investment Corporation.

“The purpose really is just to get the employers connected to the jobseekers all in one location,” said Investment Corporation program supervisor Maiknue Vang.

According to Vang, it was announced earlier this year that the unemployment rate in Madera County had dropped to below 10 percent. Vang and her colleagues, however, wish to see that number drop more.

“It’s been steady (traffic) all morning long and Madera’s one of the better ob fairs that we come to every year,” said Tomatek plant scheduler and hiring manager Frank Ruacho. “This is our fourth year here and this is the one that we usually net most of our employees.”

Tomatek, a food company out of Firebaugh, has 600 seasonal vacancies that they hope to fill. Among those at the job fair was Jonathon Chavez, 22, of Madera. Chavez arrived early for the job fair and expressed his interest in the variety of jobs.

“I would say the casinos — I was a little bit interested in that,” Chavez said, “but also, I was interested in the auto dealerships, those caught my eye, and anything that had to do with customer service, that also caught my eye.”

Chavez stated that this was his first job fair, and hopes to find employment for when he is in college.