As a long-time merchant and now chair of the Iola Industries Board of Directors, Mary Kay Heard has seen her share of Iola’s triumphs — and its heartbreaks.
She’s seen industries come and go, startups take root and become thriving businesses, and others fall prey to an ever-changing economic climate.
So when Gates Corporation announced last week it was eliminating a production division within its Iola plant, taking 80 jobs with it, her immediate response ran a full gamut of emotions.
“This is hard for the community, and it’s terrible for those who are losing their jobs,” Heard said this week.
But, as opposed to past shutdowns and times of strife, Heard notes the community is doing more than wringing its hands in despair.
“When I think about this situation with Gates, I feel like we’re better prepared this time than we’ve ever been before,” Heard said.
Heard points to an upcoming job fair for the affected employees and their families, tentatively scheduled for the second week of November, at a site to be announced.
The job fair will be open to local and regional employers, large and small, to recruit the displaced workers, and their family members. Representatives from Kansas Works and the Kansas Department of Labor also will be a part of the process.
“I don’t know how it’ll turn out, but I’m very optimistic,” Heard said.
CONVERSATIONS with Heard and Jim Gilpin, another long-time Iola Industries board member, and Camille Lavon, economic development director for Iola and Allen County, hammer Heard’s point home.
“If you were to ask me what’s keeping me up at night, this job fair has to be successful,” Lavon said. “My largest concern right now is that we have so much talent in this region, but we’re going to lose that talent if we don’t get our companies in front of these workers.”
Lavon, who has been on the job since July, notes hearing a familiar refrain since she’s arrived.
“I’ve been told by a lot of companies in this town, ‘We need more workers,’” Lavon said. “Well, we just got 80 who are people who obviously like to work, and they’re skilled workers. A lot of these are transferable skills, even if they’ve worked on a specific kind of equipment.”
Perhaps the job fair’s biggest challenge is to ensure displaced workers find a fit commensurate with their skills, Lavon said.
A 25-year veteran will likely have little appetite for an entry-level position with a substantial cut in pay and benefits.
The good news: many employers taking part in the job fair are seeking “middle management” positions, and not just front-line workers.
