Employers hope for high turnout at job fair

Employers hope job seekers will crowd the Osage Community Centre today during the annual Southeast Missourian Career Fair.

About three dozen companies and government agencies will have booths set up. The fair opens at 11 a.m. and runs until 7 p.m.

Agencies providing placement and education services will be on hand as well. And in one instance, an employer will be looking for new workers and offering educational opportunities.

Southeast Missouri Hospital is seeking registered nurses, nurses aides, unit technicians, unit secretaries and pharmacy technicians, among others, said Nancy Davenport of the hospital's human resources department.

Exactly how many new employees Southeast needs changes daily, Davenport said. Saint Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital are the areas' top employers, with more than 2,000 people on the payroll at each hospital.

Southeast can offer new employees both on-the-job training and classwork at the hospital's College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Davenport said. "With our support, you can continue on to college and in two years you can be a registered nurse."

The 2007 Career Fair will also feature recruiters from NARS, who this year are seeking help for their employee delis and day care in addition to call center workers, Schneider National Inc. looking for drivers and Wheeler Steel and Truck Equipment Inc., which is looking for welders and other manufacturing employees.

Last year's Career Fair drew 2,500 prospective employees from as far north as St. Louis and as far south as Steele, Mo.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126