Event targets 'seasoned' help

The job fair attracted displaced workers over 40 and retirees looking for full- and part-time work.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- TOM JACKSON IS A YOUNG retiree looking to start a new career.
Linda Beverly is a displaced worker. The Youngstown woman was forced into the job market when she was laid off in September from a position she'd held since 1995.
And GM retiree Lou Greco of Lake Milton wants to work part-time, just enough to make some pocket money to supplement his pension.
The three job-seekers were among hundreds attending a Mature Workers' Job Fair for people over 40 Thursday at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex. Sponsored by Youngstown Senior Employment Center, a division of Akron-based Matures Service Inc., the event featured exhibits by 20 Mahoning Valley employers and job training agencies.
Jackson, a Hubbard resident, said he retired a week ago after 27 years as a construction worker and foreman with Laborers Union Local 125. He's been looking for a new career since he began thinking about retirement a year ago, but with little success.
"I'm trying to find something where I can use my skills, but something not quite so physical," he said. "There's not a lot out there."
Back in market
Looking over the AVI Foodsystems exhibit at the show, Beverly, 45, said she hasn't had to look for a job for years. Her husband works, but she said her South Side Youngstown family needs two incomes to maintain their lifestyle. "Besides, I have two teenage sons and they eat a lot," she joked.
Greco said the job fair had put him in touch with some about some part-time job openings which might meet his needs. A 37-year GM Lordstown veteran who retired Aug. 1, he said he's been doing some construction work but doesn't want to work everyday.
"They want too much," he said of the contractors. "I just want to put a little money in my pocket to putz around with."
Hit by layoffs
Jeanine Lawrence and Greg Wheeler, both of Austintown and both laid off for a year from the Tamco Distribution Center in Austintown, said they were looking for permanent, full-time work. They've been living on unemployment benefits and their savings.
Snyder's Drug Stores has leased the warehouse and announced plans to start recalling laid off workers, but Lawrence and Wheeler said they can't wait. "We're at our wits' end," Lawrence said. "We would definitely go back if we could, but we're tired of waiting around for them to decide our future."
Paul Magnus, Senior Employment Center spokesman, said the agency's job fairs generally attract displaced workers, retirees wanting to supplement their pension income and mature workers interested in making a career change.
Finding employers for the job fairs is more difficult in a down-economy, he said, and the number was lower this time around.
Local employers participating included AVI, MCI WorldCom, Windsor House Inc., InfoCision Management, Giant Eagle, Home Helpers and Adecco.
vinarsky@vindy.com