by Mary Rupert
Vickie Juarez of Kansas City, Kan., has been unemployed for a couple of months and is looking to get back to work in customer service or at a hospital.
She was at today’s Workplace Kansas City Job Fair at Kansas City Kansas Community College field house at 7250 State Ave., where more than 73 employers had booths. She talked to employers, and visited at the Kansas National Guard booth.
Also looking for work was Man S. Cing, a Wyandotte County resident, who was looking for a temporary job today. She has studied to be an administrative office professional.
Cing visited with Jennifer Lightsey of Aerotek about job openings.
Le-Bray Lankford, a Kansas City Kansas Community College student, is almost ready to graduate and was attending the job fair this morning.
He talked with Bridgette Allen, a human resources generalist with Mosaic, which provides services for people with intellectual disabilities. They were looking for people to provide services for the day activities program.
Lankford said he would like to own his own business. He said he has a business started for the disabled, and he thought talking with Mosaic might help him in his business.
Kansas City, Kan., has the highest unemployment rate of all the largest cities in Kansas, with 5.7 percent unemployment, representing 3,949 people in Kansas City, Kan., who are unemployed, according to the March figures from the state Department of Labor.
There are job openings in Wyandotte County, and job fairs are trying to match the jobs with the potential employees.
By mid-morning April 27 about 100 prospective job seekers visited the Job Fair, said Marisa Gray, director of workforce development at KCKCC. Parking was full in the field house parking lot and spilled into nearby parking lots.
Gray said special attention was given to veterans today. There was a section where veterans could receive appropriate interview clothing, she said.
About 30 veterans attended the first 30 minutes of the event, she said, and the first hour was devoted exclusively to veterans.
Also, there were special efforts to help students who were first-time job seekers. Students were able to do job interviews on the spot with some employers, she said. A Workforce Development mobile unit was on the scene to help job seekers. There also was an effort to walk new job applicants through applications, Gray added.
This year, Gray offered a bonus for employers who offered jobs on the spot – entry into a drawing for a steak dinner.
There was a lot of interest from employers this year. Booth space ran out this year at the field house and some employers had to be turned away this year, she added.
Gray offered some advice for job seekers. It’s important to check out where they want to work and make sure it’s a good match, she said. Then, make sure the job seeker’s resume talks about who they are and what they can bring to the company, she said.
KCKCC will hold another job fair in about a year, and there are other job fairs planned in metropolitan Kansas City until then. An upcoming job fair, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-3rd Dist., will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, at the Ball Conference Center, 21350 W. 153rd St., Olathe, Kan.
To see a video about the Job Fair, visit https://www.facebook.com/WyandotteDailyNews/.