Résumés in hand, hundreds of Ridgewood residents recently took advantage of a job fair sponsored by Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley at P.S. 88 Seneca School.
“There are jobs out there, but it’s overwhelming to know where to look,” said Crowley, who held the event as a way to help the “thousands of people in [the] community” that suddenly found themselves unemployed due to the closing of three hospitals in Queens. “It is important to hold a job fair in our district to make the diverse range of job opportunities available to our constituents,” she said.
Among those in attendance on the hiring side at the May 30 job fair was Crystal Window & Door Systems, looking to fill openings in their production and engineering departments.
“The Ridgewood Job Fair was a good opportunity to look for the best people for the Crystal team,” said Isabella Leung, Crystal’s Manager of Human Resources. “Crystal tries to support local events whenever possible, and we felt the Ridgewood Job Fair was an important way to reach out to the community.” She added that they were able to meet with a number of “potential clients.”
The Laborers International Union, Local 79, was hiring for their apprenticeship program. The program consists of going to school for a week, then working in the field while continuing classes.
Local 79 participates in a large number of job fairs like this one. “We’re asked by politicians and community leaders,” said Vice President and Queens representative John Norbury, who mentioned that they recently participated in a fair in Rockaway for Democratic District Leader Lew Simon. Norbury was “amazed” by the variety of people who looked into the apprenticeship program. There were “18-year-old kids just out of high school and people in their 40s with college degrees.”
The quality of the attendees also impressed Andrew DeLuca of Magic Pest Management.
“It was a great opportunity for us to meet the prospective individuals, much more personal [than others], in a more relaxed setting…Being a locally based business that has weathered the financial crisis rather well, we’re always looking to expand our base of employees and give back to the community.”
Ultimately, Crowley believes that more job fairs such as this should be held around the city.
“As city representatives, it is our responsibility to make our community members aware of the opportunities and options available to them, especially in this challenging time,” she said.
