MADAWASKA, Maine — Fourteen employers from northern and central Aroostook County turned out for the St. John Valley Job Fair & Career Expo Saturday.
The St. John Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted the event at Madawaska Middle-High School.
It was Madawaska’s first ever job fair. Valley employers had always had to travel to other parts of The County to recruit, so chamber members decided to try to pair workers with jobs closer to home. Despite Maine’s overall declining unemployment rates, employers still find it challenging to fill open jobs, chamber Executive Director Jessica Blalock said.
“We know that our members and non-members have a lot of open employment opportunities, and we saw a need in the Valley,” Blalock said. “There’s a little something for everyone here. It’s a bit of a networking event, as well.”
Overall, Maine has seen a steady decline in its unemployment rate. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, unemployment totaled 5.5 percent, according to the Maine Department of Labor. The rate went down to 4.5 in 2021, then to 3.5 in 2022 and was 3 percent last year.
A variety of organizations and businesses attended, from retail and law enforcement to education and health care. The American Red Cross of Northern New England had a table as well, seeking volunteers.
Steven Cyr of Madawaska was hoping to find a job in virtually any field, he said, as he spoke with SSgt. E6 Audri Willey of the Maine Army National Guard. Cyr is trying to reenter the workforce after a decade spent caring for family.
“My issue is I’ve been out of the job market for an extended period of time,” Cyr said. “I’m at the point I’ll take part-time, per diem — anything to get my foot in the door.”
A former long-haul trucker, Cyr looked into leasing his own truck, but the costs were too high, he said. He has experience driving, but it’s not as recent as employers require, so he needs to start over.
At the Fish River Rural Health booth, Beth Marin, director of optometry and chiropractic services, and CEO Heather Pelletier spoke to a couple of attendees.
It was important to have a job fair focused on the Madawaska area, especially with the organization’s new health building under construction, Pelletier said.
Work started last year on Fish River Rural Health’s new $14 million health care facility in the Madawaska Midtown Plaza.
“This time next year we hope to be open, so we’re recruiting for new staff,” Pelletier said. “We’ve hired many already, but we’re seeking new providers so we’ll be hiring new support staff.”
Assisted living facility Country Village Estates is seeking certified nurses aides, personal support specialists, medication technicians and an evening cook, said activity director Paula Gendreau.
A job fair presents an opportunity for networking with other businesses, and to get the word out that health facilities have many more jobs available than physicians and nurses, Gendreau said.
Barbara Turner, workforce attraction and resident recruiter from the Northern Maine Development Commission in Caribou, was glad to have those networking opportunities.
Part of her job is to develop ways to stem youth outmigration, keeping younger workers in The County, she said. That strategy involves going out into local schools and teaching students about local employers and job opportunities in Aroostook County.
“We need to get students inside the four walls of our businesses so they know what’s out there,” Turner said.
Other employers with booths at the fair included the University of Maine at Fort Kent, Hannaford, Subway, NorState Federal Credit Union, HighView Rehab and Nursing Center, St. Joseph’s Memory Care and the Maine Forest Service.
Despite fairly low attendance at this first event, the chamber is already planning to host further job fairs, Blalock said. Another may be held at a time when different sectors, like construction, are hiring.
“Anything that we can do to support our members and our community, we are willing to do it,” she said.
