At a glance
According to Elaine Morsman, director of Career Development at Alfred State, this year’s number of registered employers, 96, broke the college’s previous record total, 73, set last year. Employers came from as far away as California and Texas, with several also coming from Rochester and Buffalo.
Nearly one hundred employers from across New York State and the country were on-hand for a March 25 spring career fair at Alfred State to meet and connect with students.
According to Elaine Morsman, director of Career Development at Alfred State, this year’s number of registered employers, 96, broke the college’s previous record total, 73, set last year. Employers came from as far away as California and Texas, with several also coming from Rochester and Buffalo.
Careers for students on both Alfred State campuses were represented and several companies were recruiting for all majors, Morsman said. A strong focus was on the following fields: civil engineering technology, electrical engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, architecture, architectural technology, information technology, computer engineering technology, business, financial planning, environmental technology, nursing, automotive technology, autobody technology, diesel technology, heavy equipment operation, welding, air conditioning and heating tech, drafting/CAD, electrical and construction maintenance electrician, machine tool technology, building trades, masonry, culinary, animal science, and agriculture.
Perhaps just as impressive as the amount of employers at the career fair was the number of students present: 690.
“After working with hundreds of students throughout the semester in résumé and interview preparation,” Morsman said, “it is truly satisfying seeing students dressed-to-impress with their resumes’ in-hand, networking with some of the biggest companies in the area and in the country.”
Morsman said the future looks very bright for upcoming graduates in middle-skills fields, which require more than a high school education, but less than a bachelor’s degree.
“I receive calls from employers daily asking how they can connect with our students,” she said. “Often these employers state that they have hired one of our graduates in the past and want to hire more just like them.”
She noted, “We see continual growth in our job-posting system and employer database, JobLink. The number of employer registrations has grown to 3,649 in less than five years, with 459 new employers registering last year alone.”
Paul Cody, project manager with LeChase Construction, said his company loves coming to Alfred State to interact with students.
“The students we have to choose from here seem to be a really good fit for our organization,” Cody said. “We usually end up with a pretty good caliber of students that we recruit.”
Tim Haefele, senior manager of technical support at Cisco Meraki, said he traveled from California to recruit Alfred State students.
“We’ve had great success in the past with some intern and full-time candidates who come in,” he said. “We really love the hands-on experience they get at Alfred State, from a networking perspective. They get their hands on switches, routers, do the lab work, and really get a lot of great experience. That allows us to not have to do much to train them. They come in and hit the ground running.”
Larry Benson, safety trainer for Dalrymple Gravel and Contracting/Chemung Contracting, said his company likes to hire Alfred State graduates because of the hands-on training they receive at the college. Dalrymple has been attending the college’s career fairs since they began more than 10 years ago.
“We’ve found out the students have got really good work ethics from going to school at Alfred State,” he said, “and they turn out to be all-around very good employees for us.”
In photo above: A representative from Lamb & Webster Inc., a farm equipment dealership, shakes hands with an Alfred State student during the college’s March 25 spring career fair.