News Release

CONTACT: Della Elliott, Public Information, (619) 644-7690, della.elliott@gcccd.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              April 26, 2006

Cuyamaca College Career Fair set for May 2

Record number of employers and sponsors in attendance

EL CAJON – Job growth may be on the decline this year, according to pundits, largely due to the slowdown in the construction industry, but that isn’t reflected in the record number of employers taking part in Cuyamaca College’s 12th annual Career Fair on May 2.

Topping a record 55 set last year, 60 employers will be at the college’s career fair, set for 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday in the grand lawn area of the Rancho San Diego campus. Another record set this year is the number of Platinum Coyote sponsors – those donating $500 to the career fair program.

The free event offers students and the community an opportunity to meet employers and possibly, get hired on the spot. Companies and organizations will be discussing the job market, interviewing and collecting resumes.

“The career fair at Cuyamaca College continues to draw employers because we are an excellent source of well-prepared, motivated workers looking to get a foothold in the job market,” said Dr. Geraldine M. Perri, college president.

Those not seeking immediate employment can benefit by gathering information about a variety of career fields and getting a sense of the current job market. Cuyamaca programs, including computer and information science, or CIS, and Grossmont College programs, including occupational therapy assistance and respiratory therapy, will have tables set up at the fair. The East County Career Center will also participate as an additional resource that fair-goers can tap for insight into the job market.

“This is the beginning of an effort to link with the East County Career Center so that they get the word out to their clients that we have this annual fair,” said event coordinator Laurie Brown, career and job development supervisor at the college’s career center. “This is a busy time for job fairs, but they’re all in San Diego. I’d like to see our fair become the central one for spring in the East County.”

Brown said career fairs such as Cuyamaca’s have long been regarded as a valuable recruiting tool among public-sector employers who tend to cast their nets wide for a diversity of workers. Local, state and federal entities are all well represented: the state National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, California Highway Patrol, the city of San Diego Human Resources Department, San Diego Harbor Patrol, city of Coronado Recreation Department, county of San Diego Probation Department, Helix Water District, the FBI, Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Miguel Fire District, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and more.

Military recruiters from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Navy Reserve will also be in attendance.

“The Army is a huge supporter of our career fair,” Brown said, noting that as a $500 contributor for the second year running, the Army is a Platinum Coyote Sponsor in the career fair program.

Other Platinum sponsors are the U.S. Coast Guard, the California National Guard, the Associated Students of Cuyamaca College, USE Credit Union and LaBahn’s Landscaping in La Mesa.

Representing the education sector at the fair will be San Diego City Schools, the Scripps Research Institute, UCSD and the University of Phoenix.

Private-sector employers sending representative to the fair include 24-Hour Fitness, Century 21, Dixieline Lumber, Federal Express, Frog’s Fitness, GEICO, LaBahn’s Landscaping, Kragen Auto, Macy’s, Nolte & Associates – Survey Engineering, Prolink One Source Staffing,Village Nurseries, YMCA, UPS, and more.
Brown noted that the companies and businesses that participate in the fair provide foot-in-the-door opportunities and can also grant lesser-experienced workers great latitude to perform a variety of jobs.

“It’s a way to quickly enhance one’s resume,” she said.

Economists with UCLA’s Anderson Forecast recently predicted that construction-related job losses could push unemployment to 6.3 percent by the end of 2007, a significant hike from the current statewide rate of 5 percent.

But college president Perri noted unemployment figures for San Diego County are markedly lower, attributable, she said, to the diversified industries in the region. According to the latest figures provided by the San Diego Workforce Partnership, the unemployment rate for the county was 3.9 percent in March.

“San Diego continues to enjoy a strong economy – the regional economic outlook for 2006 is positive, mirroring performance in 2005,” said Perri, who is a member of the San Diego Workforce Alliance Cluster, a joint committee of the San Diego Workforce Partnership, and SDICCCA, a regional community colleges group. She is also on the San Diego Workforce Investment Board, which operates under the direction of the San Diego Workforce Partnership and focuses on the region’s labor market needs and workforce preparation.

For more information and an up-to-date list of employers, contact the Career Center at (619) 660-4450 or visit www.cuyamaca.net/careerserv/.

Cuyamaca College is at 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway in El Cajon. For driving and campus maps, go to www.cuyamaca.edu.

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