Youngstown Works Hiring Event Benefits Employers, Job Seekers

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – It is really a job seekers market, and at the Youngstown Works hiring event Tuesday, employers were looking for ways to stand out as applicants lined up even before the event opened.

Standing out is tougher for a small company like Advanced Metalforming Lubricants in Warren. Glenn LG McClellan III, an operations manager at AML, has worked his way up through the ranks at the family-owned business, which employs about 30 people, including office staff.

Producing specialty manufacturing lubricants including a graphite-based liquid lubricant that improves the process of using forging presses and dyes for stamping, AML has been in business since 1989.

McClellan was at the event presented by Youngstown Works, a consortium of nonprofit agencies serving the city of Youngstown and Mahoning County, as one of the employers seeking to talk to potential production workers for material handling and heavy machinery operation. About halfway through the four-hour event at Stambaugh Auditorium, McClellan had spoken to about 15 applicants, sharing information about the company where he has worked and grown for 12 years.

“We’re a small company, 30 people, so it’s nice to actually be able to put a face out to the community, get to meet people,” McClellan said of the event. “Maybe it’s not an opportunity to hire somebody, but at least an opportunity to get our name out there and kind of explain what we do.”

Additionally, he was getting to speak with other manufacturing companies in the room.

“It’s an excellent networking opportunity,” McClellan said, noting he spoke with Alex Hertzer, senior project manager with the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, about how AML could team up with MVMC, including to gain more recognition. AML customizes its products for various manufacturing uses.

Shepherd of the Valley

Although more of a household name, Shepherd of the Valley also was at the Youngstown Works event, seeking about 60 employees to join more than 475 already working for them, according to Ashley Estes, corporate recruiter. 

Shepherd needed employees in all levels of nursing, as well as hospitality aids, dietary aids, housekeeping staff and activities coordinators as they worked to find quality staff members for four locations and home health care offerings. There is an open house at Shepherd’s newest location in Liberty on May 10.

Estes said it is very competitive to find the right people, but she believes the job market is getting better. Besides job fairs, the organization uses social media and networks with high school students and the schools that train employees.

TTM Technologies

TTM Technologies in North Jackson is part of a global company that creates high-caliber circuit boards for a variety of customers, including aerospace, defense and military contracts.

“We’re looking for people who want to be part of a successful team,” Jasmine Henning, operations manager at TTM, said, adding they are currently ramping up production in May and June so they need additional people.

Operating since 1987, TTM, employs 180 at its 95,000-square-foot facility in North Jackson, with three shifts, benefits and training provided.

“At the end of the day, people are not manufacturing PCBs in school, so we do offer that training within our facilities,” Henning said, noting the company doesn’t make circuit boards for things like toys and watches, but for more important uses requiring precision work.

TTM operates a quieter facility than a standard manufacturing company.

Liberty Steel

Liberty Steel has three facilities in the Youngstown and Warren area, where it has operated for 58 years. We have a nice pile of resources here we’re going to take back to the office and share,” said Lisa Zavara, human resources manager, adding they are looking to hire about a dozen people between the three facilities.

A family-owned company with room to grow, Zavara said the company offers good pay and both a pension and a 401K.

“We just ask that they come to work, in a condition in a state of mind, physically able to work, and that they come everyday,” Zavara said.

With so many positions to fill, Zavara said they had spoken to some staffing agencies who have offered to help, and she liked that she got to meet with some students from Newton Falls High School, which took advantage of the opportunity to introduce its students to local businesses, potential jobs and the process of meeting with employers.

Job Seekers

Job seekers attending the Youngstown Works event were looking for a lot of different things as well.

“Something that suits me, my personality. I’m more of a customer service person,” said Tiffany Williams of Youngstown. “I like to talk. I like to fix problems. I will not leave for the day until this is situated.”

When Michael Davis of Warren entered the large ballroom at Stambaugh Auditorium, he saw a lot of opportunities. There were 70 tables at the event, and 10 employers were on a waiting list.

“I wasn’t expecting this,” Davis said. “I thought it was going to be a few vendors. It was more than what I bargained for.”

Davis was taking a quick tour of the room to determine where to begin talking to people.

Derek Janek, a Youngstown State University graduate in computer information systems, also was among those navigating the job fair. After graduating, he had continued to work at the internship entry-level position he had held during school, and now he was looking for something more in the field of programming and software development, something here in the Valley.

Besides meeting with employers, job seekers also had a chance to explore many opportunities for training, in both career and life skills. The Mahoning County Career & Technical Center and Eastern Gateway Community College, as well as trade opportunities, were a the event.

Theressa Milhouse, president of Heart to Heart Health Services on Market Street in Youngstown, worked as a registered nurse for 21 years before starting a training program, which teaches phlebotomy, first aid and CPR. Milhouse offered one of the educational opportunities to help people get additional skills for that next-step job.

Good turnout

By noon, halfway through the event, Gerri Jenkins, executive director of MyPath Mahoning Valley, which organized the event, said about 200 job seekers had come through.

She credited some of the partners of Youngstown Works for helping to get the word out about the event.

Jenkins said United Returning Citizens had an expungement clinic, where 76 people received that organization’s assistance and information about the event. Goodwill, Flying High, CCA and National Center for Urban Solutions all sent their clients to the event. Jenkins said someone with Veterans Services was there to help some veterans navigate the event.

The event was a partnership that included the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber, which helped with marketing, and Jobs for Ohio Graduates, one of the sponsors.

Tuesday’s event was the third in the past 13 months, and Jenkins said organizers are planning another one in the fall.

“We want everyone to have a job that has self-sustaining wages and benefits, and eventually family-sustaining wages and benefits,” Jenkins said.

Part of that is making sure training opportunities are available throughout the Mahoning Valley, as well as additional training for a better career when someone is ready.

Pictured at top: Tracie Staebler, left, human resources director, and Ashley Estes, corporate recruiter, were seeking about 60 people for a variety of positions to provide care through Shepherd of the Valley.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.