Published: June 12, 2008 10:29 pm      

Absence of job opportunities foils northern-area career fair

NORTHERN CAMBRIA — A career fair planned Thursday at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College was canceled due to lack of a key ingredient: Available jobs.

Northern Cambria Area Business Alliance scheduled the event a few months ago to give its members the opportunity to showcase themselves and give job-seekers a chance to interview on the spot for openings.

Now, new graduates and the unemployed most likely will have to wait until fall.

Erin Gabany, co-chairwoman of the event and NCABA’s secretary, said only a few of about 110 businesses invited to the event responded.

“There were only six actually looking for people to hire,” Gabany, who owns a personal care facility in Summerhill, said Thursday. “And all of those six were looking for people in the nursing field.’’

NCABA hosted a member-to-member business expo last month to enable businesses to network with each other. The public was invited to see what businesses in their region had to offer.

The evening was a success, with a large percentage of alliance members attending.

Gabany said that most of the businesses that were there initially said they would support the career fair.

“A lot of people wanted to support it, but couldn’t because of summer vacations and other obligations,” Gabany said. “We put a lot of work into it, but we wanted to make sure our platinum sponsor got their bang for their buck.”

Lifestyle Support Services of Elmora had agreed to sponsor Thursday’s event.

“It just didn’t work out,” Gabany said. “We are now hoping to do it in the fall.”

Longtime NCABA member Barb Kirby said she was disappointed but is hopeful for a fall date.

“It was unfortunate that we had to cancel,” Kirby said. “I was really looking forward to it.”

At last year’s career fair – held at Contres-Greer social hall in Northern Cambria– NCABA businesses offered employment applications, and some conducted on-the-spot interviews.

At least two job-seekers were hired during that event.