By Lisa Carolin
The first candidate for a job that Susan Carlson ever interviewed was someone applying to work at the Chelsea Milling Company (Jiffy Mixes.)
Now Carlson is the president and franchise owner of Manpower in Scio Township, and she has placed numerous job applicants at the Chelsea Milling Company during the 28 years she has spent at Manpower.
Manpower is hosting a job fair at the milling company (201 West North St.) on today, July 2, from 8 a.m.-11 a.m., and on Friday, July 11, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and on Tuesday, July 15, from 4-7 p.m.
The jobs are in food production, specifically in the mixing and packaging departments. Job assignments are for July to December of this year, with the pay rate of $12 to $12.50 per hour.
All three shifts – 7 a.m.-3 p.m., 3-11 p.m., and 11 p.m.-7 a.m. – are available.
“We do 60 percent of our business from September through December and that’s when we need more help,” said Howdy Holmes, owner of the Chelsea Milling Company. “It’s much more economical to hire temporary workers than have to carry them year round.”
Holmes says that they will be hiring as many as 46 temporary workers.
“I hope we’ll be looked at as a nice place to work,” said Holmes. “We keep tabs on our temporary workforce, and if we need to take on full-time employees, that’s who we’re going to look at.”
Holmes says that the Chelsea Milling Company and Manpower work well together with Manpower doing a good job screening employees and Chelsea Milling training them.
“The longest standing partnership we have in Chelsea is with the Chelsea Milling Company,” said Carlson. “Temporary work gives people a chance to see what jobs are like, and companies can get a feel for the employees.”
Carlson says that Manpower does not charge fees to candidates, and that they hire for both part-time and full-time jobs.
Holmes says that he thinks that hosting the job fair on Chelsea Milling’s premises improves both the quality and quantity of potential candidates. He adds that the company currently has 287 employees, 163 of whom are 50 and older.
“At one time we had 350 workers, but as people retire, we don’t replace them,” said Holmes. “We’re introducing more technology, which doesn’t require as many people.”
All of the jobs at the job fairs are for temporary/seasonal positions. For details on how to apply, call 734-665-3757.
