The Daily World
In the middle of a challenging labor market, several area employers hope to attract job seekers with hot jobs and hot dogs in Aberdeen.
The event is scheduled on Saturday, June 19, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the parking lot of Express Employment Professionals at 601 W. Wishkah St.
If the weather doesn’t cooperate, the event will be held inside Express offices.
“The event will be kind of like speed dating for job seekers and employers,” said Reid Bates, franchise owner of Express Employment Professionals.
After providing basic information to the staff of Express, attendees will be introduced to several Express clients representing some of the area’s largest employers in health care, hospitality, and manufacturing. That includes representatives from Summit Pacific, Alta Forest Products, Paneltech, Pacific Veneer, Pacific Care and Rehabilitation Center, Belco Forest Products, Galway Bay Irish Pub and 8th Street Ale House.
“Within a few minutes of introduction, employers and job seekers will learn enough about each other to decide how to advance the relationship further,” said Bates.
The event should prove beneficial to would-be employees and employers.
“Our expectation is that job seekers will end up with several good employment options to choose from that satisfy what they are looking for in their next job, including attractive wages, growth opportunities, a good, safe environment, flexibility and training,” said Nicole McEntyre, Office Manager of Express.
Hiring decisions will be made within days of the event.
Express currently has more than 45 job openings from 27 different employers in Grays Harbor County and Mason County. The job opportunities can be viewed at express-aberdeen.com.
“We have a wide variety of positions for entry-level to upper-level candidates in health care, manufacturing and production, food service, administrative, professional, and skilled trades jobs,” said McEntyre.
“This event is a great opportunity for job seekers to connect with Express and gain access to our clients representing some of the biggest employers in the area. And there is never a fee to the job seeker, so we make it very easy for people to find their next opportunity.”
Employers are reporting significant challenges recruiting enough workers to meet the demand for their products and services. In response, wages have risen sharply across America as employers are countering the impacts of the extra federal unemployment benefits, challenges with child care, concerns over COVID-19 exposures and more.
“The positions we are recruiting for have entry-level wages between $15 and $20 an hour, which in some cases is $4 above where they were a year ago and well above the state’s minimum wage of $13.69,” said McEntyre.
Jobs in health care start at $22 an hour for a certified nursing assistant and range up to $65 an hour for registered nurses.
One of the Express clients participating in the event is Alta Forest Products. With nearby mills in Amanda Park, Shelton and Lewis County employing more than 300 individuals, Alta is the world’s largest producer of wood fence boards.
“With a robust housing market driving strong demand for our products, our mills need additional, high-quality employees who are looking for great wages, benefits and a safe, fun environment to do meaningful work,” said Tony Griffith, Operations Manager for Alta’s Amanda Park mill.
“We are excited to participate with Express in this event so we can add long-term employees to our team to help us meet that extremely high demand.”