While recent unemployment percentages in Marion County are comparable to those seen pre-pandemic, unemployment and underemployment can still be a stressful experience for individuals in that situation. 

As the workforce development board for Marion County, EmployIndy is committed to ensuring all Marion County residents have access to the services and training necessary to secure a livable wage and grow in a career that meets employer demand for talent. In spite of or incidental to macro trends in unemployment numbers, an EmployIndy initiative has had success placing job seekers who are feeling the stress of unemployment or underemployment at companies who need their talent. 

“Wednesdays@WorkOne”, a free weekly hiring event at EmployIndy’s full-service center on Indianapolis’ east side, WorkOne Indy, has been boasting an average of nearly 100 job seeker attendees per week. These job seekers are taking advantage of the opportunity to network with the roughly 20 unique hiring employers who attend on a regular basis. 

“Word is definitely getting out that we’re here,” Associate Director of Career Services, Bryan Spellman, said. “And we get a lot of returning employers.” 

Spellman said that in 2022, the hiring event attracted a total of more than 3,000 job seekers and about 225 employers, which resulted in more than 1,000 hires, a number that gets reported back from attending companies. 

In 2023, the hiring event continues to build upon the successes of last year. Just 6 months into the year, Wednesdays@WorkOne has already exceeded half of last year’s number of circulating individuals. It helps that about four new businesses are also showing up per week—at least one indicator that there are still jobs out there to be found—and at least 560 people have landed a job from their interactions with those employers so far this year. 

The industries that are represented at the hiring event are impressive and diverse: from healthcare and transportation to manufacturing, maintenance, childcare, culinary, banking, and others. EmployIndy recently spoke with a couple of those employers about what keeps them coming back to Wednesdays@WorkOne. 

Barrett & Stokely, a property management company with more than forty housing complexes across Indiana, has become a regular attendee. Talent Acquisition Specialist Carol Cashen said she tries to attend at least one Wednesdays@WorkOne per month in an effort to fill roles like Property Managers, Maintenance Technicians, and Groundskeepers. Interested job seekers can find a list of Barrett & Stokely current openings here. 

Meanwhile, First Student Recruiter Kelly Woods also felt strongly about the value Wednesdays@WorkOne provides to her company. She said she has been coming every two weeks for about two years because of the number of applications—for Indianapolis Public Schools’ Bus Monitor and Bus Driver roles—she receives because of the event. The company provides paid CDL B training, and open positions can be found here. 

EmployIndy oversees the operations of WorkOne Indy, an American Job Center, at 4410 North Shadeland Avenue on Indianapolis’ east side. The career services, training, and talent connection resources available to job seekers at WorkOne Indy uplifts EmployIndy’s strategic plan theories of change: Coaching + Training and Talent Connection. To learn more about EmployIndy’s commitment to scale quality interventions that lead to economic mobility, check out our recently released 2023-2025 Strategic Plan. 

The Wednesdays@WorkOne hiring event is held every Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. and is open to the public. No registration is required. Businesses looking to fill their open positions via this hiring event can receive registration information by sending an email to bspellman@nullemployindy.org.