(MARSHALL) – More than 170 students from Texas State Technical College attended Thursday’s Industry Job Fair and talked to employers about a variety of career fields.

The campus had its largest job fair yet for students, with 39 companies from Louisiana and Texas in attendance. Most of the companies specialize in engineering and manufacturing.

“The companies right now are needing people in those fields,” said Hannah Luce, a TSTC Career Services coordinator.

Luce said several students had job interviews at the event, with one student receiving a job offer.

“Unemployment is down, so all these companies are needing employees,” Luce said. “They realize the product we offer.”

J.P. Arrington, a human resources manager at Norris Cylinder in Longview, said the company was looking for lathe operators, electricians, mechanics, materials handlers and other positions. He said it was the first time the company, which makes high-pressure acetylene and steel cylinders, attended a TSTC Industry Job Fair.

And, he was happy with the results.

“I found some really good prospects there,” Arrington said. “I have been really impressed with your college. I have hired three of your students in the last three months. They have been fantastic.”

Crown Equipment Corp. of Arlington was also represented at the job event. The Ohio-based company specializing in forklift parts and production offers tuition reimbursement to TSTC’s Diesel Equipment Technology certificate and associate degree graduates from the Marshall campus who are hired as technicians.

“The caliber of students is just like any at TSTC – great,” said Joe Razza, a Crown regional recruiter. “They were prepared, asked good questions and were vested in what it was that we had to say.”

The next Industry Job Fair for students at TSTC in Marshall will be on Thursday, March 28.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to www.tstc.edu.