PROVO — The conference room of the Open Source Technology Center at Novell campus was filled with about 200 people on Friday, and many of them were looking for new job opportunities after Novell announced layoffs this past fall.

Since the layoffs of about 200 workers were made known in October, Novell has hosted networking conferences like the one Friday and has hired an outplacement firm to assist displaced employees with job seeking, resumes and interviewing.

"We would love to see everybody get new jobs," said Novell spokesman Kevan Barney. "So we do everything we reasonably can."

Most of the Novell employees affected by the layoffs worked in software development, and most of the positions lost moved to India.

Barney said he could not disclose how many workers have taken advantage of the company's programs to help them find new jobs or have been hired since the layoffs. The Massachusetts-based technology company currently has 1,200 employees working at its Provo location.

At the conference Friday, many workers left with their chances for success buoyed by the chance to meet face to face with the people who could help them find new jobs.

Christine Johnson was a Novell software engineering manager for 12 years. She said the company's efforts to assist her and fellow former employees is laudable.

"They have really gone all out to help us," she said.

The outplacement resources that Novell provided have helped her line up several interviews with potential employers, she said, and she is optimistic she will be back working soon.

The job-fair conference was designed for software engineers and developers seeking new opportunities or considering new ventures. The conference was a joint partnership with Provo Business Development Corporation; Economic Development of Utah; Utah Science, Technology and Research; and Wasatch Venture, among others.

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