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A Few Clouds and Breezy Senator Brooks hosts Freeport jobs fair
State Sen. John Brooks hosted a job fair May 11 at the Freeport Recreation Center, and the room buzzed with recruiters and employers interviewing potential employees.
It was the first time that Brooks, a Democrat from Seaford who was elected last November, hosted a job fair. Around a hundred people attended.
“Talking to some of the companies here now, they’re very interested in joining the other [job fairs] too,” Brooks said. “I think it’s important that we set up opportunities for people looking for work and for companies trying to find employees — making an economical event for them.”
Representatives of the Nassau County Board of Elections attended for the first time. The board needs election inspectors, said election clerk Patricia Reynolds, of Farmingdale. “We usually just do registration forms for people to register to vote,” she said. “We plan on coming to the next job fair and continue to hire more inspectors.”
“There is a dire need for inspectors,” said inspector specialist Nancy Barreno. “Last year during the presidential election, we had a lot of people who called out sick. That’s why we are starting the hiring process early.”
This job fair came at a good time for Gridiane Pygeol and Victoria Esesteve, of Rockville Centre, who were both looking for career changes from their current fields. Esesteve heard about the fair by word of mouth. She has been looking to get out of the retail industry. “I’ve been talking to a lot of employers, and I think that it’s a very good job fair,” Esesteve said. “I was talking to some recruiters from unlikely places that I thought wouldn’t fit me, but after speaking with them I now see the possibilities.’
“My background is in accounting, but I’m thinking I want to branch off, so I really just came to see what’s out there,” Pygeol said. “The job fair was definitely helpful, and I like the fact that there was a variety. I think it’s good for people to come in and realize what’s out there.”
Staff Sgt. Victor Piñon, who represented the U.S. Army’s Freeport recruitment center, said his goal is to put information out there to the community and let people know about the different programs and benefits available through the Army.
Doreen Nobile, a vocational intake coordinator at Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities at the Charles Evans Health Center in Bethpage, helped disabled adults fill out their employment applications.
ACLD is funded by New York Education Department, with full access to both rehabilitation and ACCES-VR, known as Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation. It provides vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. ACLD is considered one of the top support employment providers. In the event that an employer hires a prospect with a disability, the organization provides long-term support by checking in and making sure that the employee is performing his or her job.
“I go to at least one job fair per month. I attend job fairs in Suffolk and Nassau counties and try to network with employers and tell them about our services,” Nobile said. “We help people find jobs and help them learn their jobs. We also offer employers job coaching services and inform them about job tax credits that they can earn from hiring somebody with a disability.”
Brooks called the job fair a success and said he plans to hold two or three more this year.
”The companies I’ve talked to are happy with what they’re seeing,” the senator said. “I think we can try to expand the program and advertise it more. With the fact that our office just opened, we’re building databases for more information. A year from now we’ll be much stronger with that and be able to plan these more in advance by getting mailings out and advertise to local papers. With that said, I expect to see a bigger turnout and more companies participating.”
