Adult students attend job fair

Rosette Gonzales

Burbank Adult School’s annual career and college fair featured nearly

20 booths and representatives from local businesses and colleges.

Whether students were looking for full-time employment or

considering a direction for the future, the fair offered mutual

opportunities for employers and students.

“It helps us because we hire substitute custodians to fill

openings and sick leave, and it helps us if they come in trained,”

said Mark Clarke, grounds supervisor in Burbank Unified School

District’s maintenance and operations department.

The school is in the process of launching a series of custodial

training classes, and the district will recruit students of the

program, starting at $10.17 per hour for substitute custodial

positions, Clarke said.

If students’ English skills aren’t solid enough for a job, they

can develop them through the Adult School and still benefit from the

fair.

“The ones with the minimum English skills probably aren’t ready,

but at least they have an idea for the future,” said

English-as-a-second language instructor Ron Gracen.

Marilu Calvillo is in her third year studying English but has

attended the school for about a year, she said.

“I want to keep the information and read it because I need to

consider jobs,” she said.

Calvillo stopped at the Bob Hope Airport booth and asked about

flight attendant positions but lost interest when she realized the

job would require being separated from her daughter.

But Maura Peterson is taking career development classes and will

finish an Excel course soon. She discovered Workforce Connection, a

free job-resource center in Burbank, at the job fair. The center has

photocopiers, fax machines, computers, job postings and other career

services.

“I found out a whole lot of information about things I didn’t know

about in Burbank,” she said. “The job source is a fabulous resource

for someone who doesn’t have a computer at home.”

Cindi Mercer, a counselor for Burbank Unified School District,

said she’d like to send some of her students to the Workforce

Connection. She sometimes counsels students of the Regional

Occupational Program.

“I think this would be wonderful because students that come out of

our classes might be looking for work right away,” Mercer said.

The goal of Burbank Adult School is to partner with the community

to create a strong workforce, Principal Cherise Moore said. And the

career and college fair was a success for the school, employers and

students.

“I had to make extra copies of applications because we ran out,”

Moore said.

If feedback is positive, the school will explore having the career

fair more than once a year, she said.