About 18,400 people in Erie County make their living in manufacturing, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry.

But James Grunke, CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, said that number could be a lot higher.

The challenge is that many of Erie County's 300 or so manufacturers need to hire people, but can't find them.

And the problem is widespread, said Jake Rouch, vice president of economic development for the chamber, who explains even Erie County's largest industrial employer, Wabtec Corp., has more than 100 manufacturing jobs to fill.

Other companies with dozens of job openings include JTM Foods LLC, the nation's largest producer of snack pies.

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This job fair is kind of different from others

Hosting job fairs isn't usually part of the chamber's playbook, but its leaders are making an exception.

On Thursday, the chamber and the Erie Regional Manufacturing Partnership will host the 2022 Manufacturing Career and Job Fair, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Zem Zem Shrine Club at 2525 West 38th St.

Local companies, including Wabtec, Plastek Group, Industrial Sales and Manufacturing, and Eriez Manufacturing, will be on hand with the hopes of finding new employees.

Grunke is optimistic about the potential for successful career matchmaking.

"If you want a job in manufacturing, if you can show up on the 29th, you are either going to get connected or get connected into a training program. We need people to come who are looking for work," he said.

Rouch said it's difficult to say for certain the number of open jobs in Erie County's manufacturing sector. He estimates, though, that county's 300 or so manufacturers average at least three openings apiece. That math suggests that in the neighborhood of 1,000 jobs in manufacturing await the right applicant.

"It's not like we are down 2,000 jobs and there are no job openings," Rouch said. "It's the opposite."

Grunke explains it this way: "There are (still) 22,000 jobs in manufacturing, but there are only 19,000 people filling them."

Jim Rutkowski Jr., general manager of Industrial Sales and Manufacturing in Millcreek Township, a contract manufacturer that does work for a large number of companies, said he is optimistic about the chamber-led effort.

According to the chamber, ISM has about a dozen jobs to fill and could potentially add another shift if it found enough people.

The hiring process has changed for Erie companies

"We are extremely hopeful that it will help," Rutkowski said. "In our case, it is getting a little better but we are trying so many avenues to find people. It's not like the old days where you put an ad in the paper or a sign out front and people showed up at your door."

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Rouch and Grunke see the career fair as only a first step at what needs to be a sustained effort.

The chamber is also working to tackle a larger problem of providing both training and the money to help train applicants who have an interest in manufacturing employment, but not all the right skills.

"You have to have the employers, you have to have the training providers, you have to have the talent pools, then you have the funding resources," Rouch said.

People representing each of those things, "have to get into an ongoing dynamic dance," he said.

In some cases, Rouch said, the high-demand environment could make it easier for applicants to find training.

"Most of our employers, if someone is ready to go to work and they are committed, they will figure out how to pay for the training or they will start some in-house training," Rouch said.

Jim Martin can be reached at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie chamber hopes manufacturing job fair will lead to new hiring