Ohio Means Jobs 2024 Job Fair deemed a success

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Ohio Means Jobs held its annual job fair Wednesday afternoon, bringing employers and potential employees together under one roof.

The sixth annual job fair was hosted at the Ohio Valley Mall. Organizers said it was the largest job fair that Ohio Means Jobs has hosted. Originally held at the St. Clairsville J.B. Martin Recreation Center, the fair outgrew the capacity of the rec center and moved to the Ohio Valley Mall to accommodate the large turnout.

On Wednesday, there were 100 businesses registered for the event. A wide variety of businesses and agencies were in attendance from the entire Ohio Valley.

“There’s a little bit of something for everybody,” Workforce Supervisor Mike Schlantz said while speaking on the diversity of employment opportunities presented at this year’s job fair.

The fair had multiple careers to apply for, such as retail, law enforcement, banking, food service, health care, finance, security, transportation, manufacturing, military and more. The job fair also had local businesses and national businesses registered, all welcoming new applicants.

“If anyone wasn’t able to make Wednesday’s job fair and wanted to get any information on any employers, they just need to call our office or stop by and we can give them all of that information,” Schlantz said.

Another resource offered by Ohio Means Jobs is a virtual reality Career Simulation. The simulator is on the Oculus system and runs through META. The goal of the simulator is to allow job seekers to explore as many different types of jobs as possible before deciding if they are interested in a specific field.

While speaking on the realism of the VR program, Workforce Development Area 16 Business Outreach Account Executive Bradley Wells said it is very realistic.

“I used to be a bridge inspector, so I would always climb bridges and I was like this seems real,” he said.

A few of the career simulation options that Ohio Means Jobs offers are distribution line worker, broadband tower technician, emergency medical technician, surgical technologist, semiconductor manufacturing technician and automotive service technician.

“The VR allows you to see what it would be like to climb a powerline, change oil or do surgery on a knee,” Wells said.

Wells had held a monthly virtual job fair for residents in need of assistance in applying for employment, but he said there will be no more virtual job fairs due to funding being cut.

For more information about career exploration through virtual reality, call Ohio Means Jobs at 740-579-0379 or visit its office at 302 Walnut St. in Martins Ferry.