Job seekers look for jewel at job fair

Hundreds converged on Carlsbad Friday seeking a gem of a job.

They came to the hilltop Gemological Institute of America, which opened its doors to the public and hosted recruiters from jewelers such as Tiffany & Co., Ben Bridge, and Zales. The nearly 30 employers were hiring for a variety of positions, including sellers, buyers and jewelry designers. They were met with a good portion of the school's 150 students, most of who are in programs that last six months.

"A lot of it is seeking opportunities and putting yourself out there and being confident that you, even though you are young, you have a lot to offer to these companies," said student Natalie Tjaden, 22, who came to GIA after earning a bachelor's degree from St. Louis University.

The gem industry is centered in Los Angeles and New York, but a lot of that trickles down to San Diego, where there is some manufacturing downtown, said Kimberly Overlin, the school's dean of students.

The institute, which has hosted job fairs since 1991, opened its world headquarters in Carlsbad in 1997. A lot has changed since then. Overlin said the newest demand in the field is for people who can use computers to design custom jewelry. It's called Computer Aided Design.

"The industry is going away from just stocking their cases with standard pieces," she said. "The customer wants to do their own."

Overlin said a typical entry level salary can range from $30,000 to $60,000 per year. But local jeweler Leo Hamel, who has five jobs open, said people generally go into the field with aspirations of opening their own store or creating their own line.

Hamel, who has a downtown main store and eight offices in the county, said he personally attends the GIA job fair each year to look for the right candidates.

"Good people are hard to find. Anybody that owns a business will tell you that" he said. "It's not advertising, it's not product, it's not training, it's finding the right quality person."

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