Employers play match game at job fair
As employers on Wednesday weighed the future of a Trump presidency, more than 40 companies took part in a Chattanooga job fair as they try to fill posts in a low unemployment environment.
Mint Christopher of Chattanooga-based ERMC said it saw quite a few people interested in working for the janitorial and security firm. He said many of its employees are part-timers and they often need two jobs.
“We try to be flexible,” Christopher said at the job fair hosted by the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga.
He said he’s hopeful that a Trump presidency can bring back a lot of jobs that have disappeared in recent years.
Emmanuel Escobar of EPB said the distributor is seeking customer service and support personnel, along with information technology employees. He said EPB is still seeing a lot of interest from potential workers.
“It’s a place people want to work,” he said.
Concerning a Trump administration’s impact on business, Escobar said he’s taking a “wait and see” attitude.
Karen Thomas of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United said it has become “very hard” to fill some
“We want to find the right people.”
— DEVIN WALMSLEY OF HOSPITAL HOUSEKEEPING COMPANY XANITOS
slots, such as trying to find commercial truck drivers.
“It’s very challenging in Chattanooga and Tennessee,” she said.
Brandon Hales of Convergys, which has a large call center at Eastgate Town Center, said his company is seeking inbound customer service and sales people.
“There has been some good quality candidates,” he said, adding that some plan to come back to talk further.
Low joblessness has made recruiting employees “a little more difficult,” Hales said.
The nonseasonally adjusted jobless rate in Hamilton County in September was 5.1 percent, down 0.2 percent from a year ago.
The local unemployment rate is expected to decline even more this fall as Volkswagen and its suppliers add more than 1,000 workers to produce a new sport utility vehicle in Chattanooga. Also, Amazon is adding nearly 5,000 seasonal workers at its fulfillment centers in Chattanooga and Charleston, Tenn., along with other traditional Christmas holiday hiring activity.
“We have to work harder” and be more creative to find qualified workers, Hales said. He said Convergys is seeing more people who already have a job and are looking at switching positions.
Devin Walmsley of hospital housekeeping company Xanitos said it had seen plenty of applicants.
“We want to find the right people,” he said about the company that’s working with CHI Memorial Hospital.
Lily Sanchez of the Urban League said more than 200 people had registered online for the job fair, which the group offers about twice a year.
She said that more than 1,000 jobs were available from the 40 to 50 companies taking part in the hiring event.
The job fair is the second in the last two weeks in Chattanooga. Last week, Volkswagen staffing contractor Aerotek sought to hire employees to work at the VW plant, where production is to start in December on the new Atlas SUV.