A unique job fair geared toward workers who might take advantage of the relatively new express bus service to LakeView Corporate Park will be held next week in downtown Kenosha.
The Express Route 35 Job Fair is expected to feature some eight to 10 employers from within the Pleasant Prairie industrial park.
It will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Kenosha Transit Center streetcar barn, 724 54th St.
Organized by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s Office of Veterans Services, the fair also has the support of the Kenosha County Job Center and Business Services of Kenosha County, Kenosha Area Transit, and LakeView Corporate Park employers including Arvato Bertelsmann, Niagara Bottling and Meijer.
“This job fair will be a great resource for connecting people to the companies in the business park – particularly for those who are unable or cannot afford to drive to work every day,” said Doug Bartz, Kenosha County Job Center manager. “We’re glad to be able to assist in meeting the needs of local employers and workers.”
The event grew out of discussions about how to make employers and employees aware of the expanded bus service, which the City of Kenosha implemented in March, said Napoleon Hardy, employment and training specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s Office of Veterans Services.
Hardy said representatives of his office worked with the Kenosha County Aging and Disability Resource Center to develop promotional materials advertising the bus service. The job fair is the next step of that campaign. Hardy said Diane Gertz of the state Department of Workforce Development and Jess Scheeler of Job Corps were integral to making the event happen.
“I wanted to do something downtown because, driving past there, it’s a beehive of activity in the transit center whenever the buses are in there,” Hardy said. “I thought, this would be a great place to do a job fair. If people in there knew they could take the bus to work in Pleasant Prairie every day, this might be a great fit.”
Hardy noted the added benefit of using public transit for military veterans – it’s free. Those who have a Veterans Administration health care card or a retired military ID are eligible to ride Kenosha Area Transit buses for no charge, Hardy said.
About Express Route 35: Kenosha Area Transit’s Express 35 route serves first-, second- and third-shift workers Monday-Friday, departing downtown hourly from 5:25 to 8:25 a.m., 1:35 to 3:35 p.m. and again at 10:05 and 11:05 p.m. Buses stop at various locations within LakeView Corporate Park before returning downtown. More information about routes, schedules, fares and transfers is available at www.kenoshatransit.org.