Job Fair Short on Prospects, Participants Say

More than 500 participants in a post-riot jobs program sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service came to a job fair this week with high hopes, but many left disappointed.

Monday’s fair was intended to help employees of Opportunity L.A. find permanent work after their temporary jobs end in December.

Only 20 of the 26 employers who had been recruited by fair organizers showed up, however, and after seeing what was offered, many participants complained that the jobs paid too little or required skills they didn’t possess.

“There aren’t any reasonable jobs here,” Hollywood resident Frank Mariano said. “None of us have the experience for the jobs they’re offering. What we need are entry-level positions that we can do.”

“Where are all the employers?” asked Ed Harris outside the conference room at the Howard Johnson Inn in Monrovia. “We showed, now where are they?”

Inside, many of the tables set out for employers remained empty. The few tables with displays were besieged by participants clamoring to see what sort of jobs were being offered. But when job-seekers saw that many posts only paid minimum wage, some quickly lost interest.

“Just look at people’s faces, you can see their disappointment,” Harris said as he pointed to a group of dejected-looking people in the lobby.

Opportunity L.A., which is administered by the Angeles National Forest, was created by the Department of Agriculture after the Los Angeles riots to provide temporary work for residents of riot-impacted areas.

More than 500 employees hired since August build trails and fuel breaks and renovate campgrounds and other recreational facilities in four national forests in Southern California.

Opportunity L.A. originally offered only three months of work, but additional Forest Service funding has allowed the program to be extended twice. It is scheduled to end Dec. 18.

Forest Service career counselor Sharon K. Kelley said the job fair was just one part of a multiphase program that also includes resume writing, classes in job search skills and individual career counseling.

“By the time the program is finished, we would like to have equipped everyone with the tools they need to find a job,” Kelley said.

However, the disappointment with the job fair was best illustrated by the absence of Vons Grocery Co., which announced shortly after the riot that it was opening 12 stores in inner-city communities.

“Lots of people were interested in having Vons at the fair,” Opportunity L.A. career counselor Tina Morgan said. “Vons is one of the biggest employers in their communities.”

Morgan said that she called Vons repeatedly but that her phone calls were not returned. A Vons spokesman said that the company is not hiring for those 12 stores and that construction has begun on only one.

Many of the participants were also looking forward to talking with representatives of Pacific Bell and Southern California Edison but were frustrated when they found only application materials at an unstaffed table.

In the parking lot of the hotel, a number of Opportunity L.A. employees congregated around the government vans with their bags of job pamphlets, but few were reading the material and many appeared bored.

“I was hoping for a lot of employers,” Steve Martinez said with an air of resignation. “At the least, I was expecting to get a good lead on a job.”

Martinez said that all he wanted was a good job but that it is impossible for him to support his wife and four children with a minimum-wage position.

Other participants were also unhappy to see that most of the jobs paid only minimum wage but said they would take a minimum-wage position if it offered an opportunity for training and promotion.

“Any job is better than none, and I don’t mind starting at the bottom of the totem pole,” Harris said. “Just as long as it’s not a dead end.”

Some of the employers said they thought that there were good opportunities but that not all the participants were well-enough prepared.

“A lot of these people didn’t know what to expect,” said Paul Champion, an executive recruiter from Thrifty’s Drugstores who attended the fair. “They didn’t have resumes and didn’t seem to know what jobs were available here.”

Wells Fargo Representative Robert Amaya said he found several good prospects for entry-level positions that require a high school education and basic math skills.

“We definitely have jobs,” said Wells Fargo representative Robert Amaya, who added that although most of the jobs are part-time, they pay from $6 to $7 an hour and have a benefits package.

For participants without a high school diploma or the equivalent, a number of companies offered a combination of work and school. Timothy Ballinger of the Los Angeles Conservation Corp. explained that his organization, which helps maintain recreation areas in the Los Angeles region, is open to anyone between the ages of 18 and 23 and is particularly interested in attracting people without high school diplomas.

“We can provide them with a full-time job, specialized job training, as well as an opportunity to attend classes and earn their high school diploma,” Ballinger said.