GAINESVILLE – Steady rainfall Wednesday morning made the quest for available parking near the main entry door very competitive, but a strong turnout by job-seekers and nearly sixty area employers kept those choice spots few and far between.
That was the scene at the Gainesville Civic Center for the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce’s Spring Job Fair and Expo. A year ago the event was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, but the 2021 edition of the annual event was vibrant with expectation.
The Chamber’s Amanda Lewis is the driving force behind the GHCC job fairs and said, “We are battling the rain and a very low unemployment rate but we did some extra advertising and hopefully that will pay off.”
“We are seeing a good stream of job seekers already this morning so we’re excited for the day,” Lewis added. “We have a very good mix of exhibitors; there is truly something here for everybody, but lots of competition for great employees here in Hall County and we’re proud to have all the great industries that we do.”
Christen Wilbanks, GHCC Vice-president of Membership Sales, said exhibitors were upbeat about meeting perspective employees. She had been busy checking with the various exhibitors as the fair was underway and said, “They are finding qualified candidates. They are having good conversations and are able to see those people who are truly interested in getting a job. A lot of good positives so far and (we’re) keeping our fingers crossed for more people to come in today.” The event was scheduled to be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Hall County’s largest employer, Northeast Georgia Health Systems, had a very busy booth during the first hour of the job fair. Angela Nicholson, Health Care Recruiter for NGHS, said that the past year has changed the way her office searches for qualified job candidates.
“A lot of our interviews are done via Zoom or phone to really facilitate the candidate experience,” Nicholson said.
“We are hiring at all locations,” Nicholson added. “We have a Gainesville, Braselton and Barrow (County) hospitals and we also have Dahlonega ER (Emergency Room), and we are actively recruiting at all of those locations.”
Nicholson said their greatest need was for nurses but after that there was also a strong hiring need for, “…facilities support, Environmental Service Tech, nutrition service worker…those are all a critical need for us.”
Nicholson said those interested in learning more about employment opportunities with NGHS visit their website at www.nghscareers.com
Bryan Naranjo came from Winder to attend the job fair after reading an announcement of the event on the internet. “I’m looking for administrative work,” Naranjo said. “Mostly accounting to IT (information technology) work…and I’ve had some good results…and I hope they give me a call.”
That, after all, is why job fairs are held.
