COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Urban One Job and Recruitment Fair held its first job fair of the year Wednesday at the King Arts Complex and organizers say events like these are vital to keeping the economy flowing.

One man says his company was one of the 22 that set up shop there to find educators who’d be good substitute teachers in schools across central Ohio.

“So many people are looking for help in the job market now, especially since COVID. A lot of things have shifted and a lot of things have changed. There’s so many more opportunities that people aren’t aware of. So this type of environment and this type of event gives people the opportunity to reach out to companies and touch companies and real decision-makers in those companies,” said Orlando Austin of Thomas Austin Staffing.

One woman found who’d been working from home found a job the same day. Austin hired her to be a substitute teacher for a school on the East Side.

“I walked in. I was able to go around to all of the employers here and I met with him and I got the job on the spot. I’m still like in cloud 9. Don’t really believe that happened, but yes, I did. I’ll be working with him coming Monday,” said Dr. Gail Goldman.

Several other organizations were hiring on the spot as well such as Nesco and Rumpke said it is hiring for positions that could lead to work at the new recycling plant set to open next year.

“They can move into different lines of the corporate business to sales to marketing to digital communications. There’s just so many growth opportunities within our organization and we just want to continue to get the outreach out there and tell people about what we offer. It’s not just driving trash trucks,” said Sarah Schneider, recruiting manager with Rumpke.

There will be another career fair there on Sept. 6 at the King Arts Complex.