GLASGOW — Danny and Cindy Skaggs of Munfordville are two of more than 50 Aphena Pharma Solutions employees looking for work before the Glasgow company shuts down at the end of the summer.

Cindy Skaggs has been through the process before. She was laid off from a job in 2009.

“It was really hard finding a job,” she said.

Danny Skaggs started working at Aphena 15 months ago, followed by Cindy shortly thereafter. She worked there for about a month and a half before being laid off from the pharmaceutical packaging company, but was rehired.

“It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had,” Cindy said.

Now the Skaggses are on the job hunt again. The process might be easier this time, thanks to Aphena and the Barren River Area Development District/Workforce Investment Act office hosting a job fair at Aphena’s 40 Aberdeen Drive location in Glasgow.

The Skaggses and other employees met with seven employers Wednesday. The job fair continued this morning with eight employers.

Teresa Martin attended the job fair representing Employment Plus in Glasgow, which supplies people with entry-level factory positions.

Employment Plus works with several companies, including the Sister Schubert plant in Horse Cave. She said Sister Schubert is “desperate for people” to work and wanted Employment Plus at the job fair.

Martin said she called the BRADD office and begged them to let her come.

When Aphena employees visited Martin’s table, she told them about companies looking for people to fill temporary positions that could turn into full-time positions.

Martin said she gives the employees basic information and tells them how to apply. She has done three events like Aphena’s this month.

For a company to take advantage of the job fair opportunity BRADD provides says a lot, Martin said. 

“That at least tells their employees that even though things look bad, they still care about them. They care enough to help them,” Martin said.

Many companies often shut their doors without offering any assistance to their employees, so Aphena’s gesture is something other companies would be wise to follow if they ever found themselves in the same situation, Martin said.

“The way the economy is these days, you never know, it could be you next,” Martin said, who was once laid off after almost 35 years with a company.

Jill Lewis, BRADD’s rapid response coordinator and business liaison, said Aphena’s closing will affect about 54 people. She said these job fairs are a way to be proactive for employees losing their jobs.

“It all comes to the employer, how they handle the situation, and Aphena has handled this amazingly,” Lewis said.

The BRADD office has worked with Aphena employees on writing resumes and interview skills and will follow up on the effectiveness of the job fair.

Lewis said she will check back with former Aphena employees in about a month or so and see if they have found employment.

BRADD sought out some of the employers for the job fair, but others approached BRADD and asked to come.

Lewis said there is a positive irony to the job fair.

“I think this shows job growth in our community, otherwise they wouldn’t be here looking for employees,” Lewis said. “There are plenty of people here willing to snatch them up and get them back to work.”

Frank Guthrie and Patrick Ferguson, operations manager and general manager, respectively, for Apace Packaging, said they were excited when BRADD contacted them about coming to the job fair because their company does the same thing Aphena does.

They knew they would speak with qualified and talented people who could be a good fit for ApacePak.

Hiring people who already are familiar with pharmaceutical packaging saves ApacePak time on training.

“We can get up and running right off the bat,” Guthrie said.

ApacePak is expanding and will be adding shifts in a couple months.

“We’re sad to see Aphena close down … but for us, it could be a win for us to bring in talent already trained,” Ferguson said.

This was the first job fair ApacePak has attended. Ferguson and Guthrie agreed the job fair was beneficial because it offered an immediate opportunity to employees.

“I think this is a great thing to help (Aphena’s) employees and keep their morale up when they’re in shut-down mode,” Guthrie said.

Lewis said she hopes other companies will do for their employees what Aphena has done for theirs to soften the blow as much as possible and keep people from filing unemployment.

“They’ve done a great thing,” Lewis said.

— Follow business beat reporter Monica Spees on Twitter at twitter.com or visit bgdailynews.com.