Marlborough collaborates on job fair

Nearly 500 job-seekers attended a job fair in Marlborough, which grew partly out of Mayor Arthur Vigeant’s effort to gauge what local businesses needed in order to grow and remain in the city.

Vigeant, a longtime city councillor who became mayor in January, said he called and met with numerous business officials to find out what the city could do to help. The outreach effort revealed that many companies were having trouble filling positions, ranging from entry-level sales to engineering positions.

The June 13 job fair was called “Marlborough Works!” It involved the city, the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation, and Quinsigamond Community College. The event featured roughly 30 employers with a total of more than 100 job opportunities. Among the participating companies were Embassy Suites, Ken’s Foods, and IQuum, the developer of biological-sample testing technology.

The city, according to Vigeant, has received positive feedback from both companies and job-seekers, and city officials and business leaders are planning to discuss how they can improve such initiatives.

“If we have a need, I want to help out businesses and residents to fulfill that need,” Vigeant said.

While the vast majority of job seekers were from Marlborough, participants also came from Southborough, Northborough, Westborough, Framingham and other nearby towns, according to Michael Berry, a mayoral aide.

“Marlborough Works!” also included a resume workshop at Marlborough High School three weeks earlier. The number of participants was limited so that each person would be assured of receiving individual counseling, Berry said.