FULTON, NY – There’s been a lot of bad news lately about companies downsizing and families cutting back in view of the stubborn and ongoing recession; but, we’ve also begun to see signs of recovery, according to Sen. Patty Ritchie.
”One of the most obvious is in the decision of some companies to start hiring again. In an effort to take advantage of this, I’ve teamed with Fulton Mayor Ron Woodward, several service organizations in Oswego County and SUNY Oswego to host a Career and Job Expo on Thursday (June 9), to be held at the War Memorial in Fulton,” she told Oswego County Today.
The purpose of the event is to link Oswego County residents with companies and organizations that are hiring, or may do so in the future.
There will also be opportunities for participants to sharpen their job-finding skills, including resume and interview workshops.
”Upstate New York has one of the best trained and hardest working people in the nation. That’s a resource we can use to attract business,” she said. “I’m continuing to work in Albany on other issues that hurt our ability to effectively compete with other states and regions for the jobs we need – issues like taxes and red tape; we have too much of both.”
”The budget we passed this year, which reduced spending for the first time in 15 years and included none of the new taxes that some on the higher-spending side were advocating, sent a message to the business community that New York State is open for business,” the senator continued.
The Career and Job Expo sends another message, too: Central New Yorkers are ready to get back to work, she added.
Ritchie said planning for this event began even before she took office in January, when she started speaking to area officials and employers in all three counties she represents about ways to bring businesses and potential employees together.
”I am grateful to the mayor and the other organizations for taking up my challenge to put together a first rate expo that can provide leads and information to workers,” she said. “Losing a job is a life-changing experience. People affected by cutbacks can be frightened about their future and worried both for themselves and their family. My Career and Job Expo will help get them thinking about how the skills they’ve obtained during their careers can be used by other employers.”
Some of the human service agencies that will be at the event will also be providing information about services that are available to families.
Her concern about jobs and the need to strengthen our economy motivates a lot of what Ritchie has been working on.
New York is consistently ranked near dead last as a destination for companies that want to locate and grow, she said, adding, “We’ve started to change that with our sensible economic policy.”
”Even as we look to the future, though, we have to build on our strengths. In our region, a key economic force is the thousands of farm families who work day in and day out to feed us,” she said. “As Senate Agriculture Committee Chair, I worked hard this year to restore budget cuts that would have hurt farmers’ ability to stay competitive. I also voted on a redesigned Power for Jobs program that uses cheap hydropower as a way to draw in more manufacturers to our state and region. Energy costs are a key factor to almost any business we need to help create new jobs.”
”For jobs and a stronger Oswego County and Central New York economy, we have only begun to fight. But I won’t stop until everyone who wants a job can find one,” she concluded.
The first-of-its-kind expo will be held on Thursday from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Fulton War Memorial, on West Broadway, and will feature about 50 agencies and employers from the region, including businesses that are ready to hire.
The event is free and open to the public,
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Signs of recovery?!? Really?!? Fulton and the county itself are spinning down the drain and even long-time stalwarts like Birdseye are calling it quits and moving out west. Entry level jobs at Walmart, drug stores, and local gas stations are not going to keep the city or county afloat. What is the local, county and state govt doing to attract business to Oswego County? More of the same rhetoric and little action behind the words.