WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Through 2032, an estimated 4.7 million jobs will be added to the U.S. economy. The recent Fall Career Fair at Pennsylvania College of Technology provided ample support for that Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projection.

More than 450 companies, offering thousands of jobs and internships in an array of fields, met with 1,900 students throughout the two-day event, split between the college’s Bardo Gymnasium and Field House.

“We needed two days because of employer demand for our students and their real-world-ready skills,” said Shelley L. Moore, senior director of the Center for Career Design. “Last spring, we hosted 237 employers for our one-day Career Fair but left 290 on a wait list. That’s why Career Services worked with a variety of departments on campus to expand the signature recruiting event to two days. We considerably shrunk the wait list and doubled the number of employers who had the opportunity to engage with our talented students.”

Companies — ranging from Williamsport startups to global Fortune 500 corporations — attended the Fall Career Fair, recruiting for positions aligned with Penn College’s hands-on, innovative majors in the schools of Engineering Technologies; Nursing & Health Sciences; and Business, Arts & Sciences.

“Penn College definitely puts out the graduates with the skills we need. That’s why we’re here,” noted Chad Johnson, facilities manager for Ellwood National Forge. Part of the Ellwood Group, a Corporate Tomorrow Maker at the college, Ellwood National Forge offers turnkey solutions in steelmaking, forging and finish machining.

“I’ve done tours of Penn College. I’ve seen the facilities. I’ve met with the faculty. I’m very impressed with the hands-on training that they do here. It’s very beneficial to these kids coming into the workforce,” Johnson said. “We’re looking for electrical technicians, machinists, welders, engineers. We have lots of openings.”

Johnson, class of 1995 with an electrical technology degree, was one of about 200 Penn College alumni who returned to campus as recruiters for companies.

That list included 2005 construction management graduate Curtis Wargo, senior project manager for Allan Myers Inc. The Corporate Tomorrow Maker is the largest civil construction company and materials provider in the Mid-Atlantic. For Wargo, the Career Fair had personal and professional significance.

“Multiple internships and the job I have now came out of attending the Career Fair,” he said. “The construction management program afforded me a ton of opportunities. It opened the door for what I believe has been a very good career so far.”

As a recruiter, Wargo’s targets included construction management, residential construction technology and management, concrete science, and heavy equipment operator students.

“This school is really good for us because it fits all of those things. It’s really fun for me to not only do the recruiting but also work with them — whether they’re interns or helping them through their career — to figure out how we can find their max.”

Freshman construction management student Colby M. Bost, of West Nottingham, New Hampshire, hoped to maximize his employment prospects at the Career Fair by speaking to about 10 companies. His initial reaction was gratitude.

“I’m just very thankful. I can’t name another place where you get this many people coming to talk to you, just for your one major,” he said. “Even if you have no experience, they treat you like you’re a veteran in that field. I have some really good prospects.”

After visiting with approximately 20 employers, Drew A. Roehrig, of Newtown Square, expressed the same level of confidence. “Definitely” was his answer when asked if his day was successful.

“I talked to quite a few. There are a lot of options here,” said Roehrig, who is seeking an associate degree in heavy construction equipment technology: operator emphasis. “I think it’s great that they bring the companies to us, and we can talk to them right then and there.”

Allison Leta, human relations manager for Chance Aluminum Corp. in Williamsport, recruited students from a variety of manufacturing-related majors. A Corporate Tomorrow Maker, Chance Aluminum is a domestic supplier for AA Metals Inc., a Florida-based master distributor with global operations.

“We’re trying to promote manufacturing in central Pennsylvania and keep people here,” Leta said. “We are looking to expand from a one-shift operation to a three-shift operation, and we’re growing from about 45 employees to about 115 in the next couple of years.”

The company’s need for technically skilled workers brought Leta to Penn College.

“There’s a lot of hands-on experience that students receive here as opposed to other colleges,” she said.

Students most in demand at the Career Fair are in a mix of majors related to manufacturing, welding, electronics, electrical technology and heavy equipment, according to Stacey L. Girven, career and alumni events manager. “However, there were tremendous job and internship opportunities for all of our tomorrow makers,” she said.

Tomorrow makers like freshman architecture student Laura M. Mausteller, of Mifflinville, and junior plastics & polymer engineering technology major Kevin T. Ronayne, of Havertown. Both were on the hunt for internships.

“It’s incredible that this big of an event is helping so many kids get jobs and internships,” Mausteller said.

“It’s really amazing that the college is able to bring in this many employers,” Ronayne added. “I have friends who go to other schools, and they are searching high and low just to find someone to talk to.

“I want to get an internship in processing, work my way up to a job and keep going.”

Often an internship will lead to a full-time position. The 2023 Internship and Co-op Survey Report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 57.6% of eligible interns were converted into full-time employees.

That’s the preferred path for Chris Keiser, director of operations for architecture and engineering at Brix Design Group, a Williamsport-based architectural design, site design and landscape architecture company.

The 1995 Penn College landscape/nursery technology graduate likes to hire students part time and advance them to an internship before they take on a full-time role.

“That way they’re not thrown into the fire,” Keiser said.

He followed that process with 2023 graduate Jacob Pusateri, who was also stationed at the Brix Design Group booth. Pusateri, recipient of an associate degree in architecture technology and a bachelor’s in building science & sustainable design, received a full-time offer months before his graduation.

“I know that Penn College students are going to come out ready to work, and that’s big,” Keiser explained. “They’re going to have the technical knowledge to come out of the gate to be productive in the office.”

Twenty companies returned to campus after the Career Fair to interview about 140 students for internships and full-time positions.

“The overwhelming response to the Career Fair from both employers and students serves as a clear validation of Penn College’s commitment to applied technology education,” Moore said. “It’s obvious why Penn College has an overall graduate placement rate of 96%.”

“I’ve never seen so many companies, employers looking to hire people,” summed up freshman Rachael S. Lamb, of Beaver, majoring in welding & fabrication engineering technology. “The opportunities that are here for students are incredible.”

Penn College’s next Career Fair will be Feb. 27-28.

For information on Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.