BRILLION, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Next month, more than 300 people will be out of work after Brillion Iron Works closes its doors.
Bobbi Miller is with the Fox Valley Workforce Development Board. She spoke to WLUK.
“We’ve had staff over at the plant for the past three weeks helping to prepare the workers for this next step”
On Friday, the workforce development board is holding a job fair specifically for employees who were recently laid off at Brillion Iron Works.
Miller explained some employees have been with the iron plant for their entire life, and looking for a new job can be scary, which is why the job fair can help.
“It’s the one time that you get to meet directly with officials from that company. It’s your one time to make that first impression and really start connecting”
Ariens Company is one of 58 companies that will be at the job fair. Times are good there.
Andy Preissner, a senior human resource manager with Ariens, says they have more than 140 full time openings.
“We recently relaunched our products on the lawn and garden side. There has been a huge buzz around that and that has generated some good sales for the organization, so we need to make a lot more product than we have in the past”
That product growth is one reason Preissner says company is looking to hire more than 140 full-time workers.
“We’re really focused on hiring some good qualified people from the area. We focus on the skills from attitude, work ethic, you know, people who want to show up and work hard”
The Friday job fair runs from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Brillion High School.
Again, that fair is for Brillion Iron Works employees only. The public job fair for Ariens follows on Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
