http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2521526.shtml?cat=565
Two local companies hiring
Posted at: 03/02/2012 6:35 PM
By: Joangel Concepcion | WHEC.com
Good news on the jobs front. Xerox has begun the process of hiring 500 new employees and another company says it’s going to hire people who have been laid off from Kodak.
These job opportunities couldn’t have come at a better time for some of these men and women. Over hundreds applied for the positions through out the day. Many of them say they’ve been out there searching for jobs, but haven’t had any luck.
Joyce Fowler is one of many applicants who can’t seem to find work. Many of these people have been turned down for years, job after job.
Teri Morse said, “I would say the majority of the people that have come through the door have been laid off by prior employers in this marketplace.”
But there was a little light today in the unemployment line as hundreds of people flocked to Xerox, in hopes of starting a brand new life.
Over the next two years, the company plans to hire 500 people to work at its call center. For these frustrated men and women, an opportunity like this hasn’t come in a while.
Jamie Prescott said, “It’s been very hard to find a job especially the kind of job that’s going to give you the income to make it today, you know?”
While these applicants took advantage of a big job opportunity, a company across town was taking advantage of some very skilled workers, recently laid off.
Nat Core Technology CEO Chuck Provini said, “One of the important reasons is that we had a lot of confidence in the pool of talent that’s here.”
Nat Core Technology will manufacture solar cells inside its new research and development center. So far, the company has already hired two former Kodak employees.
Richard Topel said, “I was able to maintain many transferable skills working at Kodak that apply here so the transition for me coming into this business, my learning curve was pretty fast.”
Richard Topel was a lab technician and systems engineer at Kodak for 29 years. He says he was one of the lucky ones who managed to bounce back from the Kodak layoffs.
Topel said, “It’s almost a dream come true for me.”
The company plans to hire up to eight additional full time employees within the next few month and since the job requires a unique set of skills, they will continue to look at former Kodak employees. |
