LIBERTY, Ohio – Isaac Kurylak thought he had the soft skills test in the bag – until he didn’t.
At the Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates booth during Wednesday’s JA Inspire event, the Mineral Ridge High School junior was asked to provide his name, phone number, email and county of residence. It sounded simple.
“I wrote the country I’m from instead of the county,” he admitted. “They still let me spin the wheel, though.”
Kurylak, who plans to attend Youngstown State University to study psychology, wants to stay in the Mahoning Valley. “I just like being close to home,” he said.
That sentiment was one of the key messages of JA Inspire, an event organized by Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio at the Metroplex Expo Center. The career fair, returning in person for the first time since the pandemic, brought together more than 700 students from Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties to meet with local employers, trade organizations and educational institutions.
Brenda Linert, director of community impact for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, emphasized the importance of retaining young workers in the region.
“We have an urgent need for workers, and employers know that if there are potentially 1,000 young people coming through here, there’s a lot of opportunity,” Linert said. “It’s about teaching students that the Valley has a lot of opportunities and, even if they leave, hopefully they come back and find work here.”
Industries such as manufacturing and warehousing, she said, are actively looking for workers, but nearly all sectors need employees. To address workforce challenges, the chamber collaborates with training centers and organizations such as Goodwill Industries to improve workforce participation, which lags behind state and national averages.
“We’re about 57%, while the average is around 63%,” Linert said, adding that barriers such as transportation and child care need to be addressed to increase participation.
In addition to meeting potential employers, students attended seminars on job readiness, including a session on soft skills – an area that many businesses cite as a top priority.
“We hear that constantly,” said Kristen Taylor, development and special events manager for Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio. “In any career you want to go into, you have to know how to talk to people and conduct yourself. If they can exhibit those qualities, they’re going to go right to the top of the application pile.”
At the Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates booth, students were quizzed on workplace etiquette. Questions included: “Why is it important to review your work before you turn it in?” and “Why should you provide your availability and schedule preferences on a job application?”
“Employers expect them to know soft skills, and it gives them a leg up,” said Christian Kraker, a talent development facilitator with Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates, which focuses on placing young workers in manufacturing and health care roles.
JA Inspire featured approximately 50 vendors from banking, manufacturing, health care, education and the armed services, among others.
Representatives like Bob Graham, HR manager at Mac Manufacturing in Salem, were looking for new hires – with no experience necessary.
“We’re looking for welders of different levels. You can come in with no experience or a lot of experience,” Graham said. “If they show up and have a good work ethic, we’re willing to train them in anything they want to do.”
For some students, the event opened doors to unexpected career paths. Niles McKinley High School senior Jacklyn Peyatt was intrigued by Enviroscapes, a landscaping company. “It sounded cool,” she said.
Her classmate Elly Wright, who is interested in becoming an esthetician, said salary was her biggest consideration when choosing a career. She also noted that schools could do more to prepare students for life after graduation.
“We definitely need more teachers and people to talk about saving, taxes, how to actually live outside of school life,” she said.
For Junior Achievement of Eastern Ohio, bringing JA Inspire back in person was a necessary step in showing students the opportunities available in their own backyard.
“We want our students to know they have opportunities here,” Taylor said. “We have great schools, great organizations and businesses. You don’t have to travel to a larger metropolitan area that has the hangups of being more expensive and harder to get around.”
To ensure students leave with valuable information, each participant received a JA Inspire career book detailing local job opportunities, salaries and required certifications. Taylor hopes the event’s impact will extend beyond the students who attended.
“The goal is not just to get these kids occupations, but also so when they go home, they can connect their brother or sister or parent with something they learned here,” she said. “That’s why we want this to continue.”