Yvonne Schwartz,
owner of YES Mobile Catering in Goshen, discusses
her own experience founding a company after
losing her job. Schwartz was looking for workers
Friday at a job fair for laid-off Utilimaster
Corp. employees.
Tribune Photo/REBECCA BELLING
WAKARUSA --
Job seekers came in at a pace of about one per
minute in the first half-hour of the job fair
here Friday morning. Chambers of Commerce from
Wakarusa and surrounding cities and towns helped
stage the event to assist some 450 Utilimaster
Corp. workers who will be out of work by Aug.
31. Utilimaster completed a contract with the
US Postal Service to provide step-through trucks
and has been unsuccessful in securing replacement
work for the affected employees. Other production
at Utilimaster continues without threat of job
losses."There's definitely a lot of opportunity
here," Kent Roush, 34, of Lakeville, said.
Holding several applications and corporate literature
in his hands and looking around at the more than
30 employers set up at tables in Nelson's Banquet
Hall, Roush said he is optimistic about his future
after Utilimaster. Roush has worked at Utilimaster
for three years this go-round. He'd worked there
three additional years a couple of jobs ago. A
swing man, he'd worked in chassis prep and in
final finish, among other production areas. Roush
may not even need to be looking for another job,
but he's taking no chances since he has children,
5 and 6, to support."Right now, they're reducing
the numbers they're going to have to lay off because
people have quit or retired," Roush said.
He explained he "may be able to slide in"
to one of Utilimaster's production jobs that weren't
affected by completion of the postal contract.
His interest Friday was in Monaco Coach Corp.,
located next door to Nelson's, and Gulf Stream
Coach Inc. in Nappanee. He also wanted to learn
how he could incorporate some business classes
provided at Ivy Tech State College into his schedule."I
talked to the guy (at Ivy Tech) a little,"
Roush said. "I'd like, maybe, more training
in the business end of things ... how they train
you."Yvonne Schwartz could empathize with
job hunters Friday and was in a unique position
to help. She founded YES Mobile Catering Inc.
in Goshen 10 years ago when she had no job. Today
her crews provide breakfast and lunch to about
250 factory sites in Elkhart and Kosciusko counties
from corporate headquarters in Goshen's Maple
City Industrial Park. Schwartz was recruiting
Friday for an assistant production manager, sales
route driver and sales development manager."I
started in the garage in my home," Schwartz
said of the company's humble beginnings. "We've
done nothing but grow since then."Full-time
entry-level jobs with Schwartz's company start
at $20,000 annually. Although there isn't a real
ceiling, Schwartz said the pay can reach "up
to $50,000," with experience. She offers
holiday and vacation pay, insurance coverage and
a 3 percent match on pension contributions."And
don't forget the free food," Schwartz added.
Many area manufacturers, with whom job hunters'
current skills could be matched, participated
Friday. Not only recreational vehicle and manufactured
housing producers, but suppliers to those industries
were represented. Many said they believe they've
seen the industry slump "bottom out"
and predicted a rebound by year's end. Also present
were Utilimaster management representatives and
Indiana Workforce Development specialists, and
Mary Sue Freitag, director of the state's Rapid
Response Team that assists workers when mass layoffs
occur. James A. Orbik, Utilimaster vice president
of operations, was pleased with the response of
the business community."I think there's more
than 30 (businesses) here," he said, stopping
to shake hands with an employee who was there
to fill out applications. Orbik worked closely
with the Wakarusa Chamber of Commerce, which hosted
the event, to get Chambers from Elkhart, Goshen,
New Paris, Millersburg and Nappanee to participate.
Roush gave Utilimaster high marks for its handling
of the layoffs."I think they've done it very
professionally," he said. "They've kept
people busy at the plant, and kept us informed.
And they didn't have to put on this job fair at
all. It seems that they've really gone the extra
mile to help everybody out."Staff writer
Anita Munson:amunson@sbtinfo.com(219) 235-6467
