South Georgia career fair hopes to combat worker shortage

THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WCTV) - While the unemployment rate is slowly creeping down in Georgia, job seekers say it’s sometimes hard to find good, quality paying jobs.

Several people looking for work stopped by the mega career fair at the Department of Labor with their resumes in hand, hoping to find just that.

“We saw it on ‘Totally Thomasville’ on Facebook, and thought it would be a good opportunity to try to find a good job to keep,” said Katelyn Strickland, one of many who attended the job fair.

Strickland said the job search has been difficult post-pandemic, and that despite having over a dozen applications submitted for jobs, the communication between her and potential employers has been a major issue.

“I have probably 18 applications in, but the hear back process is almost non-existent,” Strickland said. “It’s really hard to get into communication with people during all of the Covid stipulations going on, so I’m hoping this makes it easier.”

That’s where “labor finders” come in, according to the Department of Labor.

“We have different warehouse jobs. We have production, we have landscape, we’ve got clerical. Just really a wide range of jobs right now,” said Jim Wall, the Regional Director for Labor Finders.

Wall also said it’s their job to make the process of finding work simple by communicating with local businesses. They’re able to find out what positions are open, and from there, “labor finders” are able to market those jobs to the best candidate.

“It’s amazing how there’s such a disconnect between the companies needing workers, and employees needing jobs. So, we’re here to step in and bring everyone together,” said Karen Canada, the Branch Manager for Labor Finders.

Wall said that future career fairs are already in the works, and all you need is a resume, two forms of I.D. and a desire to work.

Officials said businesses looking for employees and people looking for work can reach out to them regarding what they’re looking for, and they’ll help with the rest.

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