Nearly 2,000 turn out for job fair
Middletown”™s Galleria at Crystal Run was busy with shoppers on May 18, but they weren”™t hitting the stores. They were job shopping, filling out applications and talking to recruiters at Orange County”™s Employment and Training/Orange Works job fair, looking for a real person, not someone in cyberspace, to talk with.
Not everyone was out of work. Some wanted to know what opportunities were out there. Mary Louis of Wappingers, an assistant store manager for Hannaford”™s, was one of them. She  spent time talking to David Dentico, director of operations for LK Bennett Enterprises, which fills many positions for Thruway pit stops and several McDonald”™s eateries  in the Orange-Ulster area.
“I like my job and Hannaford”™s is a great company to work for. I just wanted to see what was out there,” said Louis, “This gave me an opportunity to meet people face-to-face.”
More than 50 employers participated, including Precision Pipeline Solutions, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Apollo Security and a host of health care agencies, with a sprinkling of county and federal job opportunities and retail positions, according to Marie Blair, career center coordinator for Orange Works.
One vendor said some applicants were not prepared. “We had a lot of good people come by,” said one employer”™s representative, “but they weren”™t in business attire. I think if people are sincerely trying to make a good impression, dressing for an interview when coming to a job fair is the first thing they should be thinking of.”
Blair agreed, saying many looking for jobs, particularly the younger set, need training in interviewing skills, how to dress for success and help creating a good resume. “We have two locations in Middletown and Newburgh and have something going on every day. We are here to help people learn those valuable skills, which make them more valuable to employers.”
JoAnn Sabatino, a pre-school teacher for 14 years at St. Joseph”™s in Middletown, will be losing her job next month. “I know I”™m probably going to have to look in a different field. Teachers are being laid off left and right. I may go back to school, but honestly, I don”™t know if I can afford it. It”™s very frightening and frustrating.”
Sharlene DiNunzio, account executive for Knapp Consultants in Rock Tavern, said most jobs at the fair were entry-level, paying $10-$14 an hour. “I recently placed a law school graduate in a job where she is making $18 an hour, which is considered very good right now. We called every single law firm in the Hudson Valley, and none of them are hiring. It”™s very unsettling times for young professionals coming out of college.”
Then, there are the “99ers,” as DiNunzio called those whose 99 weeks of unemployment is running out. “The fair, overall, has been a mix: displaced workers, people with little employment history and graduates who are finding the job market extremely difficult and competitive.”
Sharon Martini, operations manager for At Home Ltd. in Nanuet, said the home health aide service, which opened in January, already has 100 workers and is looking to hire 100 more. “This is a growing community problem here in the Hudson Valley that is just going to get worse. There are more seniors here who need help, but not enough people to go around. We also have difficulty placing workers in hard-to-reach rural areas.”
Heather McElroy, staffing coordinator for Campbell Hall Rehabilitation Center, had over 250 applications in her folder, along with resumes, when the fair was ending.  “There just aren”™t enough jobs out there for the amount of people looking.” Another recruiter observed, “Many of the applicants are looking for ”˜tidy”™ work. There are good ”˜blue collar”™ jobs out there, but applicants have no experience. The labor pool seems to think there”™s something wrong with getting a little dirty on the job. But isn”™t that what built this country?”
The mid-Hudson”™s  overall unemployment rate continues to hover in the nine-percent range, with some fair attendees reported  they have been out of work since shortly after the Great Recession hit.