Mystic ― The Day’s semiannual job fair attracted hundreds of people Thursday to the Hilton Mystic, where attendees said they were pleased by the wide range of employers represented and companies indicated this is a must-attend event.

“I think this is an excellent resource for the community,” said Adriana Osborn of Waterford, who attended with niece Niyia Schofield, a recent transplant to the area.

“I’m so impressed with the setup,” Schofield said. “It’s good way to meet face to face with people.”

Jaclyn Nardone, marketing manager for The Day Publishing Co., said nearly 50 businesses and nonprofits attended the event. After a big surge in the morning, Nardone said there had already been 200 attendees, though she expected some tapering off in the afternoon.

“It’s really great; a lot of people,” said Jess Finn, talent acquisition business partner for Masonicare, sitting at one of the booths.

Aimee Lillibridge, general manager of The Fisherman restaurant in Groton Long Point, said she was looking for about 16 new employees to fill a wide variety of summer jobs, including servers, bartenders, cooks and dishwashers.

“We come here every single time,” said Jenna Seery, a human resources assistant at Groton Public Schools, which is seeking teachers for the summer, certified personnel for the fall and people for food service positions starting at $16.32 an hour. “We’re getting a wide range of people.”

Electric Boat, which is seeking to add more than 5,000 new jobs to the region’s economy this year, was well represented and saw a lot of traffic as it sought people in the trades, especially welders and pipefitters, but also engineers.

“We always get a great turnout attending this one,” said EB’s Amanda Gaccione.

EB was emphasizing that they are not looking for people with experience, just those who are willing to work hard and learn.

“It’s a great alternative to attending college,” said Dave Evans, another EB representative who himself learned on the job.

Alec Leshy, who works at New London Public Library and lives in the city, said he was looking to branch out into the education field and was happy to see Groton, Waterford, New London and Norwich public schools represented at the four-hour event.

Jim LaBrake of Plainfield, an engineer who recently lost his manufacturing job in a downsizing at Rogers Corp., briefly stopped by a table manned by representatives of Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. The lab targeted this job fair, he said, because of the number of military personnel in the area who likely have experience in the nuclear field.

“I saw it online,” he said of the job fair, the first one he’s ever attended. “It’s great. There’s a lot of different industries represented.”

l.howard@theday.com