By Dakota Antelman, Contributing Writer
Photo/courtesy Marlborough Economic Development Corporation
Marlborough – Over 100 area job seekers attended a city-wide job fair Oct. 23 in the function hall of the Courtyard by Marriot hotel. Though already a long running annual event, this fair marked a major expansion for the program.
Adding a series of wokshops on how to make a good impression on a job interview, and marking a turn toward biannual fairs after long running as an annual event, this job fair gathered more than 20 employees under the same roof for jobseekers. The workshops were run by MassHire Framingham Career Center.
Held annually since 2012, the Marlborough Works! Job Fair, organized by the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and Mayor Arthur Vigeant’s office, became a semi-annual event last year, when employers expressed interest in having separate fairs for positions requiring different levels of education and experience. In May, a job fair was held which focused on life sciences, biotechnology, high technology and other industries that require higher levels of education and more years of work experience. The Oct. 23 job fair, officials said, centered on service, retail, hospitality, manufacturing and other industries that typically hire for positions that require little-to-no experience and, often, no more than high school education.
“Over the past few years, Marlborough’s economic growth has attracted dozens of employers—big and small—to the city…” said MEDC Executive Director Meredith Harris in a press release. “We’re committed to helping these local companies find the right talent, and our job fairs offer them the opportunity to network with a large number of jobseekers in one place at one time.”
Among those attending were major companies like Quest Diagnostics, Prudential Advisors, APEX Entertainment, The TJX Companies and GE Healthcare Life Sciences.
“We’re excited to be a part of the job fair,” said APEX floor manager Melissa Skinner. “We’re excited to meet all the great talent out there and can’t wait to see who comes in.”
In addition to talk of their expansion, organizers buzzed around a recent data release indicating that unemployment in Marlborough had dropped from 17 percent in January to 3 percent last month. As they hope past events like theirs contributed to that, they also maintain that their job fairs will be necessary in the future even with lower unemployment.
“The unemployment being so low is great,” Harris said. “But we still have job opportunities and we still have individuals looking for jobs so this is a great opportunity for people to meet face to face and really connect.”
