Looking for a job? Maybe one in healthcare? Or as a teacher? You might be able to find one at a Nov. 10 job fair held by Workforce Solutions Golden Crescent.
Looking for a gig in government? Maybe industrial construction? Finance? Yes, they’ll be there.
Henry Guajardo, executive director of the nonprofit Workforce agency, said at a meeting of business and government leaders on Tuesday the job fair is looking to fill as many as 700 positions in healthcare, business, finance, manufacturing and government. Those 700 jobs are available at the over 40 employers participating in the Hiring Red, White & You event at Victoria College’s Emerging Technology Complex, 7403 Lone Tree Road.
The event is geared toward veterans but is open to all.
“Most of those are some of the larger employers, such as school districts, hospital districts,” Guajardo said at the Victoria Partnership meeting held by the Victoria Industrial Development Corp. “But there are a lot of private sector employers that are also in need of maintenance, industrial construction, finance. … Retail, of course, during the the months of October, November, December, retail really picks up because of the holidays.”
Guajardo said the seven-county region his agency serves — Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Gonzales, Jackson, Lavaca, and Victoria — has had a steady workforce of about 90,000 people for some time.
“That’s actually been hovering around 90,000, 89,000 to 91,000 for the last almost 10 years,” he said. “It really hasn’t moved the needle that much in the civilian labor force.”
He said the jobless rate has declined from a peak of 15% during the pandemic to 3.7% in September. Before the pandemic, it was about 3%.
“And we had a difficult time in finding individuals to fill jobs,” he said. “In Victoria alone, we had over 5,000 individuals that lost their jobs in a matter of three months.”
As for the spots being offered at the Nov. 10 job fair, he offered tips so applicants can have the best chances of finding work. First, he said, brush up your resume so it is current. Make sure any gaps in employment are explained, as well as any overlapping jobs. Guajardo said of the 40-plus employers at the job fair, as many as 38 have online applications.
“So we’re encouraging these jobseekers that we’re preparing for this event, to go in and make sure that they filled their online application for the position that they’re they’re hoping to pursue.
“Why is that? Well, because you don’t want to spend an hour in a lab at the job fair … filling out that application when you really need to be face to face with those employers.”
He said applicants for the most part will have to complete the forms on their own. “So that’s one of the things we’re encouraging our jobseekers to do.”
To do that, he said, applicants should register with Workforce Solutions at workintexas.com. Once they do, Guajardo said applicants should complete as much of their profile as possible and apply for positions they’re qualified to perform. Many employers on the system will be at the job fair, and their specific applications will be online at the workintexas.com site. Applicants can also call Workforce at 361-578-0341.
Keith Kohn is executive editor of The Victoria Advocate. He joined The Advocate after many years as local editor at newspapers in Florida, South Carolina, New York and California. Reach him at [email protected]
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