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Estimated 350 attend job fair at Rock Creek
Photos and story by Dana Haynes
Job-seekers and employees fill the Rock Creek Event Center on Saturday.
An estimated 350 people attended the Oregon Job Fair at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus this Saturday.
Oregon Sen. Mark Hass of Beaverton hosted the event.
“It’s a great turnout, but a great turnout is both bad and good,” Hass said. “It would be great if we held a job fair and nobody came, because nobody needed jobs.”
Sen. Mark Hass, right, greets Jonathan Schlueter, executive director of the Westside Economic Alliance, at the Rock Creek Events Center.
Jonathan Schlueter, executive director of the Westside Economic Alliance, said Washington County has more than 25,000 people on unemployment rolls. “That’s why these events are important,” he added.
The Alliance represents the Washington County business community.
David Rule, president of the Rock Creek Campus, said community events like job fairs are part-and-parcel of the PCC mission. “We’re a lot more than higher education,” he said. “It’s increasingly important that we play a role as a community partner, as we struggle to get out of these tough economic times. I’m hopeful that this event connects unemployed Oregonians with employers.”
Sen. Hass said he heard positive comments during Saturday’s event at Rock Creek. “One woman told me she’s been out of work since losing her Freightliner job two years ago, but now, after making some connections at the Job Fair, she had lined up a job interview next week,” he said.
Scott Haddock, foreground, and Lindsey Flores, left, both of Darden Restaurants, addresses questions from would-be employees. Darden’s holdings include Olive Garden.
Employers at the event included AT&T, Comcast, Plaid Pantry, SolarWorld and Unitus Credit Union. From the public sector, employers included PCC, Worksource Oregon, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Labor and Industries.
To learn more about PCC’s legislative activities, or what issues could affect the college, visit www.pcc.edu/about/legislature
About Dana Haynes
Dana Haynes, joined PCC in 2007 as the manager of the Office of Public Affairs, directing the college's media and government relations. Haynes spent the previous 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for Oregon newspapers, including ... more »