Citing a tough job market, Blake Long of Turlock turned out for the Community Jobs Fair at the Ceres Community Center on Thursday and came away with new ideas for careers he’d like to pursue.
Recently canned from his job over a workers comp case, Long said he came to the Ceres event to meet with some of the 41 prospective employers face-to-face rather than apply on line. But often he was referred to an online application process anyway.
“I decided to come here, maybe they’d give a shot or whatever and talk to the employers,” said Long.
Piquing his interest were the booths of the California Highway Patrol, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, 911 Hazmat Cleanup and Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The free event was sponsored by the Ceres Chamber of Commerce, city of Ceres and the state Employment Development Department (EDD).
Ceres Chamber of Commerce President Brandy Meyer who owns Meyer CPR & First Aid, had her own booth as she seeks to hire workers for twin businesses she is preparing to open on Fourth Street – Lil Papa’s Sandwiches & Moore and BK Bookstore. Meyer said 60 persons – some of them recent high school graduates – showed up at a June 9 hiring event inquiring about part-time jobs.
“It’s getting hard out there,” said Meyer. “There were so many people who came in that said they can’t get hired anywhere. They said they’ve been trying and trying and trying.”
Meyer said the crowd appeared to be large and diverse, running the gamut of ages.
The fair was of certain help in a city that has an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent, which equates to about 1,800 residents without work.
Ruth Garcia of the Modesto EDD office said the local jobs picture has suffered with layoffs that include those of Bronco Winery. Add to that local high schools have flushed a number of graduates onto the job market and you have the crowd that showed up on Thursday.
“It’s because of the market has been so bad that there are so many people that are unemployed so it has been increasing the amount of job seekers,” said Garcia.
Two of the 43 booths had representatives of Community Based Organizations that provide job training and place youth in internships.
Officers Tom Olsen and Amada Maravilla were busy promoting the California Highway Patrol (CHP) as a career possibility.
“The CHP is looking for officers right now,” said Olsen, who mentioned. “We’re just trying to get more officers out of the roadway. With the retirements and COVID we’re still trying to catch up from the COVID days when we had to shut down our Academy. So it’s a fantastic time to become a CHP officer.”
Olsen said the starting annual pay for a CHP officer is $122,000 and goes up “quite a bit” with the agency looking to hire those with high school diplomas between the ages of 20 and 35. Recruits spend 26 weeks in a boot camp style academy in West Sacramento.
CHP dispatchers are also in demand in Stockton and Atwater with the age requirement being 18 and older with a typing certificate of 40 works or more per minute.
Obviously not all applicants make the grade. Maravilla said in May, 519 applied to take the CHP test, 213 showed up, 154 passed the written exam, 73 went on to pass the physical agility test and a smaller number went onto background checks where some will be disqualified for various reasons.
According to Olsen, the chief factor that washes out applicants is dishonesty. It’s better to be upfront about potential personal issues from the past than to lie and cover them up and be found out in the background check.
Olsen advised: “We just want you to be truthful as to who you are. Make us determine whether or not you’ll be a good fit for our department. We don’t want dishonest officers, no matter what it is. We pride ourselves in our officers being high value in character and integrity.”
The Central Division of the CHP, which runs from Modesto to Bakersfield, continues to send the most recruits to the Academy than even Southern California. Olsen theorized because there is a more pro-law enforcement mindset than in the larger, more politically liberal Los Angeles County.
The CHP also has instituted free Applicant Preparation Program workouts for those in the hiring process every Tuesday at the CHP office in Modesto.
“We bark at them a little bit to get them mentally and physically ready for the Academy if they get that call.”
Applicants might be in the cue for six months to a year, Maravilla noted.
The city of Ceres had a booth in search for police officers, 911 dispatchers, a Human Resources analyst, accountant, streets maintenance operator, and senior recreation leader.
Frantz Nursery, which grows trees and bushes in Hickman, had a booth in search of persons to fill just two jobs – distribution clerk and shipping dock managers. The latter requires management experience since that employee will be overseeing a crew of about 40-50.
The business recently expanded by acquiring Dave Wilson Nursery. Frantz Nursery grows and distributes trees and plants to Costcos, Home Depots, Tractor Supply and Lowes in seven western states.
Other businesses/industries attending included: Addus Homecare, Black Oak Casino, BMO, Cal Fire, California Natural Products, Caltrans, Caregiver to You, Casey Logistics Inc., Ceres Adult School, California Highway Patrol, ComForCare, CVS Health, Department of Protective Services-DDS, Dhilon Healthcare Group, Direct Protection Security Inc., Express Professionals, Farmers Insurance, Fastenal, Frito Lay-Pepsico, H.M. Clause, Goodwill Industries, Hughson Nut/OFI, Nestle, New York Life, Oak Valley Hospital District, Panda Restaurant Group, Reed Family Companies, Select Staffing, Snyder Mini Storage, Stanislaus County Human Relations, Stanislaus County Office of Education, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, Suave Dental, SupHerb, Sylvan Union School District, Teeples Plumbing & Drilling Inc. and the U.S. Navy.
