Reserve job fair attracts students

Certified nursing assistants, process technology interns and firefighters were among the positions available at a job fair Thursday in Reserve.

The semiannual event was sponsored by the Student Government Association at the Louisiana Technical College's River Parishes Campus and drew about a dozen employers as well as about 300 local high school and technical college students.

Charles Lewis, a senior at East St. John High School, said he got a look at the possibilities for his future.

"I got to see what I possibly could come here and do," he said. Employers at the event "gave me some good advice," he said.

Linda Green, a human resources site service leader at Dow Chemical in Hahnville, said she talked about planning a career with students, not just the company's openings for interns.

"It's a good opportunity for them to get some guidance," she said.

Green, for example, asked students about their career choice, then asked if they had researched information such as what the job pays and whether there is a demand for workers in that field.

Thinking of those issues "gives them tools for success, even if they don't want to work for us," Green said.

Employers said the pendulum has swung in much of the job market as a result of the economy.

Bunge administrative and human resources manager C.J. Jones said a newspaper advertisement three weeks ago drew hundreds of applications, many of them from qualified workers. By comparison, ads a couple of years ago drew just a few to the Destrehan company.

"A lot of the resumes we got were from guys who primarily worked for contractors doing turnarounds," Jones said.

Turnarounds are short-term, periodic maintenance jobs, or temporary expansions at industries. Another large group of applicants was offshore oil workers, he said.

"It's kind of an indication of the economy and what's going on," Jones said....