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Regional Job Fair Series is a Hit

2018-05-30
People talking
Macon County Public Library was one of four different locations that hosted the Regional Job Fair series.

The week after college graduation and Mother’s Day, Southwestern Community College’s Career Services partnered with the Fontana Regional Library System to offer a Regional Job Fair Series to connect local employers with prospective employees in Jackson, Macon and Swain Counties.

“The job outlook in our service area and across our whole region of Western North Carolina, is much brighter than it was a few years ago, and we want to help our students, alumni, and the public that we serve find fulfilling employment,” said Michael Despeaux, Director of Career Services at SCC. “We had strong attendance with 51 tables occupied by employers and recruiters over the course of four days and almost 100 job-seekers, at least several of whom we know succeeded in landing jobs. We’re very happy that libraries throughout our area reached out to us about creating more opportunities to help businesses and organizations make connections with people eager to change careers or enter the workforce.”

With similar missions to serve the same community, SCC and local libraries strategized to fill a void in employment support, one that was taken advantage of by local employers, military recruiting, college admissions, job seekers, and various referral organizations. Each library hosted employers who were most local to its service community and integral to its county’s economy. To target local opportunities nearest each library, Career Counselor Jodie Waldroup contacted county-based employers who were registered in the SCC Career Services Job Board (call 828-339-4424 for information about registering). In the future, although over 74% of attendees felt positively about the timing of the events, the fairs may be held later in the day to also include high school students who are looking for summer employment. Following these fairs and throughout the summer, they and all job seekers can still use SCC’s Job Board to view lots of opportunities: https://www.southwesterncc.edu/career-center/job-board

The Regional Job Fair Series was successful for many job seekers and employers. Over 81% of attendees reported high levels of satisfaction with the events and their usefulness to their job searches, and over 93% of employers were equally pleased with the fairs. Despeaux observed, “When career counselors like Jodie Waldroup work side-by-side with librarians such as Cristen Dando and her team of colleagues to help people access resources, it’s going to be a success.” Held after SCC and WCU usually host annual hiring events, these fairs offered another chance for students, alumni, and the public to explore both employment and educational opportunities in our Western North Carolina counties.

Together, SCC Career Services and the Fontana Regional Library System are committed to helping people in the Western North Carolina community succeed!
 

Director of Career Services at SCC Mike Despeaux, pictured here with Cristen Dando at the Macon County Public Library.

 

Almost 100 job-seekers came out to take advantage of the opportunities at the Regional Job Fair Series.

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