As more people get vaccinated and the economy opens up, there are more job opportunities than a year ago. To help Ohioians take advantage of the recent labor shortage and start a new career or transition out of a dead end job, Cuyahoga County is having an in-person job fair on Aug. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m., followed by a virtual job fair a week later.

David Megenhardt, Executive Director of the United Labor Agency, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the job fair and the exciting opportunities workers have to launch new careers, change industries or transition out of dead end jobs.

Taking advantage of the national labor shortage

The job fair is open to anyone, especially people looking for careers in manufacturing, healthcare and IT.

Now that more people have been vaccinated, it is time to go back to work — and there are many new career opportunities for people, Megenhardt said. People can mask up and social distance at the job fair, he said.

Megenhardt stressed that the labor shortage is real and creates exciting opportunities for people who wish to launch new careers or transition out of dead end jobs. It is a good time to look for work, he said.

Virtual job fairs will continue

For those still reluctant to attend in-person events, a virtual job fair is happening a week later on Aug. 18. Similar virtual events happened during the pandemic and were quite successful, Megenhardt said. People were interviewed and landed decent paying jobs.

Thanks to the success and popularity of the virtual job fairs, Megenhardt said the United Labor Agency will continue to hold similar events remotely, even after the pandemic wanes and life returns closer to normal.

The in-person job fair is taking place at the Friendly Inn on 2386 Unwin Rd. in Cleveland, Ohio on Aug. 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. More information about the job fair can be found here.

Free training for new careers

Megenhardt said the United Labor Agency has recently received new funds for job training. Over 700 people were trained for new jobs last year, free of charge.

Megenhardt said the agency can connect people to numerous vocational schools to launch new careers. The process is fairly simple. People come to the agency and discuss their skills, careers they are looking to get into and skills they need to make the transition. The agency then sets them up with free training programs.

Truck driving in particular is very popular with good opportunities. Everyone who completes the training gets multiple job opportunities to choose from, Megenhardt said.

There are also careers available in manufacturing, healthcare, IT and a range of other options. The jobs are good paying and plentiful, Megenhardt said.

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