Jefferson County businesses readying for warm season at Clayton job expo
Mar. 26—CLAYTON — Businesses in Clayton are waking from their winter naps, and owners are readying for the summer rush by sweeping off storefronts, stocking shelves and rebuilding their staff.
The latter was the focus of a job expo hosted by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday afternoon at the Harbor Hotel.
Tricia Bannister, the chamber's executive director, said that the expo will also help to get seasonal workers thinking about work again.
"Being a seasonal tourist town, we wanted to get employees ready for the season," Bannister said.
Bannister said that there is a variety of work being offered by area businesses, which means that there is something for everyone.
Applicants could choose between job fields in customer service, food service, hospitality, environment, mechanics, sales, tourism and public safety. The fields were represented by 15 participating businesses.
Those 15 businesses were: 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel, Boathouse Marine, Chalks Marina & Boat Sales, the city of Watertown, the Watertown Police Department, Clayton Island Tours, Clayton Popcorn Company, Coyote Moon Vineyards, H&R Block, Jreck Subs, Luxury Island Cleaners, Thousand Islands Land Trust, Tricia's Rondette Restaurant, Wellesley Island Market and White's Lumber.
Several employers said that prior experience is not necessary and that they value a person's character the most.
Kristina Randazzo-Ives, co-owner of Coyote Moon Vineyards in Clayton, said they want someone with a good attitude who is willing to learn. They are hiring people for two different types of work.
"It is kind of two-fold. We are looking for people to help sell the wine, and we are also looking for people that can help make it," Randazzo-Ives said.
She said they have three to five openings, for part-time and full-time work, at the downtown location on Riverside Drive and the vineyard on Route 3.
James Lettiere, owner of Boathouse Marine, is looking for a similar kind of person to join his team. It has been difficult for him to find those people.
"I'm looking for mechanics, somebody who wants to work on boats, and I'm willing to train them. If they know a screwdriver from a wrench, I will teach them the rest. They just have to have the motivation and ambition to learn the career, and it can be a good one for them," Lettiere said.
Kayla Jones, Philadelphia, is a motivated and ambitious job seeker, but she was interested in finding a career in health care, not mechanics.
Jones, who first worked in agriculture, decided to make the career switch to health care because she was going to be having a baby.
"I decided I wanted to make the switch because I got pregnant, and I wanted something that was a little bit more reliable in terms of all year-round work, because in agriculture, a lot of it is seasonal up here," she said.
Jones has been going to school to learn the trade, and to show employers that she is qualified.
"I started with going for my certificate in medical records, completely online," she said.
She continued by getting a billing and coding specialist certification through the National Healthcareer Association, and a certified coding associate through the American Health Information Management Association. She is currently working on her bachelor's degree in health care management.
The problem that she said she has been running into, is that even though the health care organizations are saying that they need help and are short-staffed, they will not hire anyone without previous experience. Despite her schooling, certificates and 3.8 GPA, she has struggled to find a way to break into the field.
However, Jones is willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job she wants.
"I really don't care if I have to move, at this point I am just trying to get any experience that I can in health care," she said.
