The Effingham County Industrial Development Authority is hosting a career expo in an effort to provide exposure for career opportunities in the county.
The job fair is from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday in the Rincon Elementary School gym. Twelve employers, including Hyundai supplier Sewon, DHL Logistics and Halstead International are scheduled to participate. More than 100 jobs are available for everything from entry level to supervisory positions. On-the-job training is available for some roles.
“Since we have had the amount of growth specifically in the industrial sector, we wanted to make sure we gave our residents a better understanding of what employment opportunities are available,” said Jessica Hood, vice president of ECIDA. “Even if you are just curious, we want those people to come, too.”
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According to Hood, most residents commute outside of the county for work. Keeping residents in the county would help mitigate traffic congestion, particularly on Highway 21.
“I think that if you live in Effingham and you are working down the street that will help cut down on some of the congestion,” said Hood. “You can see on Highway 21 that there are quite a few folks leaving in the morning and coming back in the evening. We want those folks that are commuting out to be aware of the opportunities that are here in Effingham.”
Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America has had several job fairs this year and the Development Authority of Bryan County held one of their own last month. The team at ECIDA recognized career opportunities in the region are abundant and wanted to highlight opportunities close to home for residents within the county.
“We felt like now was a good time,” said Hood. “There is a lot of awareness in the market for different jobs. We felt like we would be remiss if we didn’t take the time to the highlight the opportunities we had.”
The county’s unemployment rate is 2.1% and despite close proximity to Chatham, Bulloch and Bryan County, Hood said it is important to increase awareness of job availability, even for those who are just curious about what the county has to offer.
“We do know that more people are living and working in Effingham than five years ago,” said Hood. “We find that to be very encouraging.”
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Hood went on to say keeping tax dollars in the county is an added benefit when residents choose to work where they live.
“[If they work in the county], they are getting their coffee here, they are frequenting the restaurants on their lunch break and when they get off work they are going to our grocery stores, so it is a huge plus from a sales tax perspective when your residents live and work in your community,” said Hood. “We want to keep as much of that revenue in our borders.”
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.