Retraining, education and applications all part of job quest

JACKSON — After being out of work for a year and six months, Andre Long of Rich Square was looking at any type of job at Job Fair 2009 Thursday in the Northampton County Cultural and Wellness Center.

“We need to have more job fairs here,” he said. “I think today is a real good start.”

Long has been using his time since being layoff from Perdue to earn his GED. Once he completes it, he plans to take welding classes.

The job fair featured several employers, community colleges and organizations talking to hundreds of job seekers attending the event. Currently, the unemployment rate for Halifax and Northampton counties is 13.1 percent and 10.7 percent respectively. Statewide, the rate is 10.4 percent.

Adrienne Greene of Ahoskie said she has only been out of work for a couple of weeks.

She was seeking office manager and any type of clerical work she could find.

“The job search has been going really good,” she said. “I’ve been getting phone calls.”

Greene said she was pleased overall with the job fair.

Northampton County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judy Collier said there are jobs out there. She added she hopes the participants will take advantage of this.

“A lot of the companies don’t have applications filled out so people have to go online,” she said. “I hope those who came will take advantage of it.”

Northampton County native Eric Casterlow moved back to the area last week from Virginia because the cost of living was cheaper.

“I just needed a change of pace,” he said.

With his background, he was looking for a job in the medical industry. Casterlow said he was nurse in the Navy, has worked for a family medical practice and is American Red Cross certified.

He added that he has applied at several places before the job fair and noted while employers were looking for people, they were giving the impression they wouldn’t hire until the beginning of 2010.

Casterlow felt optimistic about the job fair. “I think no less than 45 percent of the people attending will find employment,” he said.

Fellow job seeker Shelton Boone of Conway had been out of work since September as a shipbuilder.

“The job search has been up and down,” he said. Boone was also seeking a job in the medical field. Currently, a student at Halifax Community College, he was working on certified nursing assistant certification.

He felt like the job fair was a good start for the county.

“I feel like it is good for Northampton to show it is interested in the well being of its citizens,” Boone said. Sheree Anderson, assistant in the Northampton County Human Resources Department, manned a table that gave out information about the county and its Web site where job seekers could see what jobs were available in the county.

She thought the job fair had a very good turnout. “I think it was an excellent idea because it helps the different business to get their positions out there,” she said.

Anderson added that a job fair motivates those who are seeking a job.

“It makes them more active in their job search and it shows how many people are determined to find work,” she said. “Anything we can do to make a connection is good.”

With 323 participants at the job fair, Collier said it was a huge success and thanked all of the sponsors who help to sponsor the event.

“If only one person gets a job at the job fair, it was a success,” she said. “But there are promises of more jobs.”