MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Dozens of recently laid-off employees may soon have new jobs. Last week, the manufacturing plant Proform Group suddenly shut down in Muskogee.
Now, more than 75 people looking for work may have found it at a job fair.
“I was just shocked,” said Dakota Abraham. “I’ve been working here a while trying to make a name for myself.”
Dakota Abraham worked at Proform Group in Muskogee for 5 months. He and dozens of others lost their jobs when the company unexpectedly closed its doors for good.
“Now I gotta start all over again,” said Abraham.
On March 20, he attended the job fair at the American Job Center in Muskogee. It was specifically designed for former Proform workers to find new jobs quickly.
“I’ve been getting a lot of applications, and I’ll just be applying to as much places as I can,” said Abraham.
- Previous story>>> Job fair held after 100+ layoffs at Muskogee manufacturing plant
He was also getting help from American Job Center Manager Donna Sanders.
“Coming in here gets people back to work,” said Donna Sanders. “They can feed their families. They can take care of their bills and they can actually look toward the future.”
She said 18 companies with open jobs were actively hiring. Todd Carlson, Plant Manager at Vallourec, looked to fill open positions for about a year.
“I’m actually hoping we can fill all the rest of our vacancies from the people we see today,” said Carlson.
He said a lot of the skills from Proform employees could transfer to Vallourec's seamless pipe processing for the oil and gas industry.
“It’s great that it works for us, and it’s going to work for them,” said Carlson.
More than 75 people attended the job fair, and with applications in hand, Abraham hopes to find his next position here.
“I’ve seen quite a few good options,” said Abraham.
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, the Department of Commerce, and Port Muskogee all came together to host the job fair. Many companies say they plan to do follow-up interviews after the fair.
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