Unique Job Fair Planned at NTID

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A prospective employee talks with an exhibitor at last year’s NTID Job Fair.

Hundreds of employment seekers with hearing loss are expected to attend the annual Job Fair at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf on Tues. Oct. 14. What makes this job fair different from others is the nearly 50 sign language interpreters who will be on hand to help communication, if needed, between employers and prospective employees.

The Job Fair, co-sponsored by the New York State Department of Labor, will feature about 40 employers who will be talking to students, alumni and community members about possible careers. Summer co-ops, part-time and full-time jobs are available. Last year, more than 40 people were hired as a result of the NTID Job Fair, says Dawn Lucas, assistant director of NTID’s Center on Employment.

Lucas says some of the companies attending the fair are expected to have RIT/NTID alumni who now work for the companies. Many will also have managers or human resource personnel who are specifically seeking deaf or hard-of-hearing employees to help their work force become more diverse.

Students studying graphic design, business, engineering, sciences and computer majors are always in demand, Lucas says. New this year will be recruiters hoping to hire qualified sign language interpreters. Rochester is home to an estimated 300 sign language interpreters—about 125 work at RIT/NTID. Local interpreting agencies and video relay services, which hire interpreters to help facilitate communication between deaf and hearing people, are also expected at the Job Fair.

The Job Fair will be at NTID’s Lyndon Baines Johnson Building from 1:30 to 5 p.m. All RIT/NTID students are welcomed, as are alumni and members of the community who have hearing loss. Deaf or hard-of-hearing students finishing a four-year degree at other colleges of RIT are particularly urged to attend.