The Philadelphia Housing Development Corporations, JEVS Human Services and the city last week teamed up to hold the third annual construction and building trades hiring fair at Orleans Technical College, 2770 Red Lion Road.
Skilled tradespeople were able to network and set up interviews with employers.
Some of the jobs available were in the fields of carpentry, HVAC installation, masonry, electrical work, roofing, general contracting, plumbing, painting, fabricating, heavy equipment operator and building maintenance.
Some 650,000 jobs – many of them well paying – are available in these fields.
“We’re coming together to close that gap,” said Rodney Brutton, campus president, Orleans Tech.
Dave Thomas, PHDC president and CEO, said passion is at least as important as skill, especially for people applying for jobs online. Thomas said the event should be called a “career” fair, not a “job” fair.
“A job is nothing but work,” he said.
Others in attendance included state Rep. Joe Hohenstein; Gianna Grossmann, Senior Director of Workforce Development, city Department of Commerce; Keith Henderson, a manager at PECO Energy; and Marek Allen, assistant director of maintenance, SEPTA. ••
