Parking spots were difficult to find on the Flathead Valley Community Campus on Thursday afternoon as more than 900 people attended the Flathead Valley Job Fair.

The event sponsored by the Flathead Job Service featured more than 50 employers. 

Jobs on offer in the community room of the Arts & Technology Building ranged from highly technical positions with places such as Integrated Security Solutions to all-purpose jobs at the Zone Fun Center where an employee could end up working with a mobile zip line or a bungee-jump trampoline. 

Tracy Wessel, Integrated Security Solutions marketing and communications specialist, said she was impressed with the number of veterans who were qualified for the advertised positions, as well as others whose resumes were loaded with relevant experience.

“There were people who were enormously overqualified,” she said. “I advised them I would inform the president of our company about them.”

She expressed surprise at the number of older adults looking for work; many of the employers had expected a younger demographic.

Vivint, an automation security company based in Provo, Utah, offers sales positions in which college-age students can earn $12,000 to $14,0000 over the course of a summer. Brock Walburger, vice president of sales, said students can come from and work just about anywhere. He was at FVCC to look for college-age students, but they weren’t as numerous as he expected. 

Montana Rifleman/Remington was looking to hire computer numerical control machinists, positions company representative Phil Jones said can be difficult to fill.

“Most of them have moved on to North Dakota,” he said. “We found a few qualified people we’ll follow up on.”

The blanking shop at the Remington facility east of Kalispell is running 20 hours a day seven days a week, Jones said. The machine shop is running two shifts Monday through Thursday, but Jones anticipates increased machine-shop hours soon. Jones said the company hopes to hire five to 10 new machinists and 20 employees for general labor. 

“There are not enough hours in the day or days in the week right now,” he said. 

Other manufacturing jobs, a category that has been increasing in the Flathead Valley in recent years, included electrical and mechanical assembly positions at inDimension3, which builds three-dimensional printers and recently moved into a 14,000-square-foot facility south of Kalispell. 

Laura Christiana of inDimension3 was happy with the quality of the applicants.

“It is stellar,” she said of the job pool. “If I had 10 openings, I could fill them all. Because of Applied Materials, there are people here who have experience and understand manufacturing.”

Jarrett Smith, 21, was disappointed that there were no local employers looking for heavy-equipment operators. He has three years of experience from a California job but recently moved to the valley and is hoping to find a position here. 

Sitting at the same table filling out applications was Jacob Wolfe, 24, who is hoping to find a more social position than his recent graveyard-shift job at a group home.

“I’m looking for something to meet people,” he said. He was happy to see Montana Coffee Traders at the job fair, since it provided the possibility of combining his love for coffee and socializing. 

Bill Gilbert of the Flathead Job Service greeted people at the door. He said events such as the job fair provide an opportunity that many job seekers say is lacking in their searches.

“We hear so often that all companies want is an application online or an email resume,” he said. “The job fair is a great place to meet face to face.” 

The Flathead Job Service hadn’t held a job fair since 2009 because of the poor economy in recent years, but Job Service personnel were feeling optimistic when employers filled up the available slots for the fair long before the deadline. 

Their expectations were surpassed, Gilbert said. 

“I think employers are motivated because they’re getting good applicants,” he said. “I think we’ll make a difference for some people.”

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.