SPOKANE, Wash. – Wednesday’s NonStop Local WorkSource Job Fair at the Spokane Convention Center brought in more than 1,000 prospective employees and more than 100 employers, the highest total since the job fair returned after the pandemic.
“There’s a lot of opportunities,” said Juana Olacabal, who attended the fair looking for work. “It’s very exciting seeing all the people, more than I expected.”
Whether someone was new in town, or retirement wasn’t quite cutting it, the job fair was the place to be.
“I’m new in the city, and I thought this would be a great way to learn the culture and see who’s doing what,” Leslie vanWinkle said.
“This is my first retirement and I’m tired of it after six weeks, so it’s time to go back to work,” said Sergei Kvokov. “I haven’t had to look for a job for 25 years, so this is a new process for me. I’m finding some good potential employers.”
Up and coming businesses–and some well-established ones–took advantage of the opportunity to have prospective employees right on their doorstep.
“This is a lot more fun than just posting job postings to Indeed, and we get to actually connect with the community, so it’s a good time,” said Megan Koch with Little Scholars Development Center.
“It’s also been interesting to see some of the other organizations out here and create some partnerships,” added Little Scholars Development Center’s owner Kerra Bower. “There are some really integral pieces to our program that we were able to make connections with here.”
Kevin Williams with the Spokane Workforce Council reflected on Wednesday’s turnout.
“I think it says an awful lot, individuals are very interested in their options,” Williams said. “We have a lot of job seekers who are looking to make that transition from one job to another, or looking for that next great career opportunity for themselves.”
