RANCHO CUCAMONGA >> Hundreds of eager job seekers attended a job fair Friday at Universal Technical Institute.
Students were able to meet one-on-one with representatives from such companies as Penske, Crown Lift Trucks and Jiffy Lube. About 30 Southern California employers were represented.
“I think it’s a real good opportunity because there are a lot of employers ready to hire,” said UTI student Ulises Bataz, 19, of Hesperia. “It’s like a mini-interview that you get one on one, and they get to know you in that little transaction. It gives them a real good idea of the person you are and you get to know about the company itself.”
Erick Sosa, UTI employment services director, said a job fair or graduate interview day is held every 12 weeks. About 1,500 students are at the school, and from 50 to 200 students graduate every three weeks, he said.
“It’s beneficial to our existing students,” Sosa said. “Typically, we have 30 or more employers come to our job fairs and graduate interview days and it’s a benefit to the student. Our main job from an employment standpoint is making sure they’re getting hired from a reputable company. We have a lot of employers here on campus that are willing to help out and that are looking to hire our UTI grads.”
Armando Barrios, a field service manager for Crown Lift Trucks in Ontario, said he was looking for a dozen new workers to start immediately.
“Hopefully, somebody’s graduating soon and we can bring them back to the office and get the process started,” Barrios said.
Joshua Thompson, 28, of Rialto was among those hopeful for a potential job at Crown Lift Trucks.
“I’m glad they’re really helping us to get a job out in the field,” Thompson said. “Most of the time, they give you a certificate after you’ve graduated and it’s up to you to find a job. But they have events like those where they help us and give us key information on how to get a job and what they’re looking for.”
Ken Hatfield, district service manager for the Penske company in the Inland Empire, said many workers in the industry are leaving because of retirement.
“There’s a great opportunity in the industry right now because there are so many people coming into retirement age, so it’s going to make a lot of opportunities,” Hatfield said. “We have a lot of baby boomers coming up on retirement. We need to replace those folks.”
