By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Chamber President Natalie Redmond says it’s not very often the chamber holds career fairs, but later this month one will be held
Redmond says this career fair will be perfect for anyone looking to get back into the workforce
"So, anybody looking to get back into a career, maybe that person that was going to be college bound that decided to go a different direction that's looking for a career," Redmond tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "Or somebody who's maybe taken the summer off with kiddos that wants to get back to work, or really anybody that's looking for a career change, we'd love to have you on September 13th."
The career fair next week hopes to help aid the worker shortage in St. Joseph.
In June, St. Joseph's preliminary unemployment rate dropped down to 2.2%. There are more than 600 open positions posted on the Chambers online jobs board, but the Chamber estimates there are actually more than 1,000 open positions
Redmond says a large number of people retired during the coronavirus pandemic and never came back to work
"Typically, they might retire and still come back for a second career, still might work part time at Hyvee, still might deliver flowers for the local flower shop, or maybe come back as a consultant," Redmond explains. "We weren't seeing that during the pandemic, that's starting to come back a little bit because now the housing markets leveled out and now their stock portfolio doesn't look as good, it doesn't look like it's going to sustain them for as long now."
Redmond says the Chamber is starting to see a slight turn around in that, but the workforce crisis will continue to be a crisis.
Redmond says when you attend the career fair you don't have to bring a resume but you can. She says there will also be plenty of employers with interactive booths
"The jobs today, the HR folks today, have gotten so savvy and so great because of the workforce challenges that they usually have ways to register right there, in the booth online with an app so you can just jump on and register for a job on your phone," Redmond says. "So, bring a resume that's always great, but a lot of the folks will have interactive booths."
The career fair will be held on September 13th at Stoney Creek Hotel in St. Joseph from 3 to 6pm. Nearly 40 Chamber businesses will be there for people to explore.