WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — More than 40 businesses are participating in West Hartford’s job fair at the West Hartford Town Hall on South Main Street until 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Dozens of organizations and companies in health care, retail, finance, and manufacturing are looking to hire workers. In fact, there are far more companies and organizations than there are people looking for work, and that is the problem.
“We are short-staffed at the moment, so we have different incentives going on right now in certain positions,” Shawn Hewitt with Mercy Community Health, a retirement facility, said.
Right now, people in health care are overworked, understaffed, and facing a vaccine mandate that is causing some to leave the field. Mercy Community Health is looking to hire, regardless of experience level.
“Pretty much, if you want to work, we have a job for you,” Hewitt said.
First responders are also looking for new recruits.
“Everybody in public safety and actually, in general, the economy could use more workers,” West Hartford Fire Department Chief Greg Priest said. “Public safety – this is a great event where folks can come in, learn more about our jobs, and hopefully, we can see if they’d be a great fit for our organization.”
For months now, News 8 has been telling you about the Max Restaurant Group and its struggles to find workers.
“We are exhausting all outlets in terms of job fairs, social media recruitment, paying for paid ads, employee referral bonuses, sign-on bonuses, I mean, we’re pulling out all the stops,” Jill Waller, the human resources director for the Max Restaurant Group, said.
They are doing that because they have three to five openings at each of their 10 locations. So again, all levels of experience are welcome, and they are ready to train.
“Teaching these individuals who may have never worked in a kitchen before what to do, the steps of service, whether it’s front of the house, back of the house,” Waller said.
Those interested in jobs with the Max Restaurant Group can find more information here.
No pre-registration is required for attendees, and the job fair is on a first-come basis. Learn more about the job fair here.