Since Covid the job market has fluctuated with both jobseekers and businesses struggling to connect with each other, and small businesses and nonprofits shared floorspace with government and law enforcement agencies looking to talk in-person with talent. There were reps from the San Bernardino County Sheriff and County Fire, along with agencies from down the hill like Riverside County Sheriff and The Department of Homeland Security.
Andy Gorrill was there from Nomad Ventures in Downtown Joshua Tree, looking for sales associates for the long-running climbing and adventuring store. He says for their business and the folks they usually hire, it’s been hard to find people who can afford to live and work here.
Andy: “For the wage that we pay it’s hard to find people who can find affordable living. A lot of our employees are seasonal – they are rock climbers from out of state who come in. Now most of them will live in their vans on the dry lake bed instead of renting a house for 6 months.”
Suzy from Storyland Preschool in Desert Hot Springs came up the hill looking for teachers – something she says has been in short supply here in the desert.
Suzy: “Ever since COVID it’s been a challenge finding qualified teachers and so that’s what brought me here.”
Healthcare jobs were well-represented and Tila Sornett from the Morongo Basin Healthcare District was there not only taking applications, but doing on site interviews hoping to fill some job positions with qualified locals.
Tila: “It’s been pretty difficult to find people in the area. A lot of the talent that we’re finding is down the hill and some people don’t want to do the transportation, so having this is actually really good to be able to find people within the community.”
“Qualified candidates” was something I heard about from businesses – while many people are eager to work, finding folks with the right qualifications for even entry-level jobs in particular fields seemed to be a struggle for many.
There to help fill that gap is the Copper Mountain Community College’s Career Center. They assist students with resume building, job searching, practice interviews, and even a closet to help outfit students with clothes that can inspire confidence.
Anna says that for many students looking for jobs, just getting their resume in front of real human eyeballs is the first and sometimes most difficult step.
Anna: “The pattern that we see is that a lot of people don’t know where to start. Right now with AI taking over quite a bit of resume evaluation, we are working with that specifically to make sure that resumes make it past that first step of being scanned through the system.
So like when you apply at the hospital it’s going to look for straight keywords through your resume to see if you’re qualified for the position… then it will take that resume and push it through to the application manager.
That is the biggest thing we are seeing… how we are working with AI and to get people employment. That’s the biggest hurdle for us.”
Robert: “Like a digital foot in the door?”
Anna: “Yes, exactly.”
Sean Dalpathado was at the career fair looking for more permanent work. He said he’s run into the exact struggle with the screening process that Anna was talking about.
Sean: “I think the biggest issue is just getting those interviews. I’m well qualified – in my opinion – I have a bachelor’s degree, I’ve had plenty of work experience and great references. But it’s just getting my foot through the door for someone to actually talk to me is the difficulty. A lot of times the screening process just eliminates me already off the bat and a lot of employers just don’t… I think they’re not focusing on the face-to-face interactions anymore. It’s all about the data… if the application process AI lets you through.”
As far as I know, everyone I talked to at the career fair was human, and seeing physical handshakes and paper resumes being passed across tables is one sure-fire way to get past the robots. With the job market in constant fluctuation, and the Morongo Basin facing a widening disparity between income-level and cost-of-living, many of the non-profits were there to not only offer job opportunities, but to also offer their services for folks struggling to make ends meet while they continue or start on their career paths.
If you missed out on yesterday’s job fair, or you are hearing this and are struggling to find a way forward in the job market – CMC offers traditional degrees alongside technical training and certification for tradespeople. Here again is Anna from CMC’s career center:
“We need technical students as well. So we offer CTE (Continuing & Technical Education) programs here for students in computers, construction… all of that. So if you don’t want to get a degree – say you didn’t like math – well then take a CTE course and learn something technical because those are the jobs that are really out there. We really need plumbers. We need electricians.”
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