Colorado's Comeback: Businesses Banking On Upcoming Job Fair To Get Back To Business
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Stanley Marketplace is seeing nearly as much foot traffic as it did before the pandemic. People are ready to get back out, but businesses need workers to clock back in. Stanley Marketplace is hopeful an upcoming job fair will help ease some of their hiring struggles.
The job fair will feature representatives from nearly a dozen small businesses, from food and beverage to retail and services. Employers are seeking both full-time and part-time workers. Restaurants nationwide are struggling to recruit candidates as they emerge from COVID-19 restrictions.
"Some people have moved onto other jobs. Some people are afraid to come back to work due to the pandemic. It's really hard to say," said Aleksi Backer, General Manager of Chook Chicken.
Chook Chicken was forced to lay off 30 employees last year. Now, they're aggressively hiring. Backer says the restaurant is looking to fill jobs like dishwashers, line cooks, even manager positions. Despite promises of competitive wages and a referral bonus, hiring restaurants aren't getting any bites.
"It can be hard to even get someone to show up for an interview. If we can get it scheduled, it's a 50/50 chance they'll show up," said Backer. "We're offering a referral bonus just to get people in the door. We do a fully-tipped house for both front and back of house employees. We also offer benefits for full time employees. That's very unheard of in most groups."
Down the hall in Stanley Marketplace, Create Cooking School also hopes the job fair will expand their team.
"Food and beverage have definitely taken a major hit during the pandemic. I think a lot of people are nervous to get back into it because we're working in such an intimate place," said Michelle Nguyen, Operations Manager at Create Cooking School. "We are still endorsing masks in our space because we are a recreational cooking school, but also a bar. People are moving within our space a lot."
Nguyen says applicants shouldn't be intimidated by the cooking school name. Create is expanding, and they're looking to fill a wide array of positions.
"We're really interested in just putting ourselves out there and seeing what we can get in terms of candidates and interested applicants," said Nguyen. "We're doing a new wave of hospitality. We are interested in people that don't have a food and beverage background."
Former restaurant workers seem to be looking elsewhere. Companies hope some are just waiting to come back. Both Nguyen and Backer say they love the community atmosphere that comes with working at Stanley Marketplace.
You can pick up job applications during the job fair in The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace on Monday, May 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.