COLLABORATIVE JOB FAIR TO FEATURE 40 FIRMS.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

Want a job with Bugle Boy Industries, Merry Maids or Micro 2000 Inc.?

These are just some of the 40 companies offering clerical to high-technology jobs at the inaugural East County Job & Career Expo.

``This is the first time to my knowledge that the government, private industry and chambers of commerce have collaborated to create, plan, fund and operate such an event,'' said coordinator Ron LaGuardia. ``We intentionally chose a variety of different industries to represent the entire spectrum of the work force.''

The event also will feature a job search seminar on resume writing, job search techniques and interview skills, and a drawing for an Hawaiian vacation. Ventura County Supervisor Frank Schillo is scheduled to speak.

The job fair also is designed to spotlight the East County Job & Career Center at 980 Enchanted Way, Simi Valley. The 3-year-old center recently added Ventura County's CalWorks Agency as a partner.

The center is a one-stop consulting brokerage of employment services for employers and job hunters and helps transition people back to the work force.

The partnership for the center includes Ventura County community colleges, Ventura County adult schools, California Employment Development Department and more than 40 public and private agencies.

The center offers Internet access for job seekers to tap into company Web sites, word processors to fine-tune resumes and subsidized vocational training ranging from computers to clerical, LaGuardia said. He said qualified job seekers can attend the training for free.

LaGuardia said hundreds of people go through the center each week, culling its resources for jobs.

Ventura County boasts an unemployment rate of below 5 percent and outperformed the state with a job creation rate of 3.5 percent in 1998. With such a strong economy, employers have difficulty recruiting workers. Job fairs have proved cost-effective for companies, which have seen recruiting efforts rise, according to the center.

And for residents jobs are still in demand.

``The public needs to know this,'' LaGuardia said. ``Employers are still right-sizing and we have a continuous flow of people laid off. I think the main surge (of companies doing massive layoffs) has probably passed, but we are still getting companies that are moving or simply right-sizing.

``Jobs are changing as businesses change,'' he said. ``And as these changes come down they make adjustments to the work force which oftentimes means layoffs. That is where we come in.''

THE FACTS

The East County Job & Career Expo will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Hyatt Westlake Plaza, 880 Westlake Blvd. Admission is free.

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Box: The facts (see text)