GE, Tri-Lakes sign up for July job fair

By John Howell Sr.

The Northwest Mississippi Job Fair, scheduled for next Thursday at the Batesville Civic Center, has grown to 43 employers  for the July 15 event.

“We had 44 last year, I will expect to add a couple more,” said Joe Buckner, director of the Governor’s Job Fair Network that coordinates the state’s job fairs with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

Employers can still sign up for the event by contacting the Batesville WIN Job Center at 578-7318.

“We could put 100 in there, there’s room for that,” in the civic center, Buckner said.

“I expect a lot of job offers,” Buckner continued, turning his attention to people seeking jobs.

The job fair concept brings a number of employers seeking workers to one place at one time to allow people who need jobs the greatest number of opportunities to find them.

Among employers who will be seeking to add workers at the job fair are several considered among the area’s premier places to work, according to Alice Roseman of the Batesville WIN Job Center which is coordinating local logistics.

“They get excited” when they learn that GE Aviation, Windsor Foods and Tri-Lakes Medical Center are looking for workers, Roseman said.

GE Aviation is seeking production associates. Windsor is seeking a production supervisor, and lead-production and millwright assemblers, according to the job fair Web site, www.jobfairs.ms.gov.

Tri-Lakes wants to hire more RNs, LPNs, social workers and a respiratory therapist.

An employer new to job fairs is PEC/Premier, Buckner said. “They train people for oil cleanup.”

The mobile unit of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security will be in the parking lot for employers who want applicants to apply online.

“Just because a company tells an applicant to go online doesn’t mean you’ve wasted your time,” at the job fair, Buckner continued.

“It’s (the job fair) your chance to make a good impression. After they leave, the employer may go and separate the online application of an applicant who has impressed them,” the job fair network director said.

“The bottom line is that with the economy the way it is, there are still jobs out there,” Buckner continued. He said that there are more people applying for those jobs, and jobs may now require a longer commute and that they may require additional training.

“If you’re unemployed, it’s easy to get discouraged,” Buckner said. “What we’re offering here is hope.