It was a great day to go job hunting as hundreds of hopeful applicants made their way to the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center for the South Plains Job Fair on Tuesday.
The job fair was helped sponsored by Workforce Solutions. Danny Soliz, Director of Business Development at Workforce Solutions South Plains, says that despite the cold and rainy weather on Tuesday, he was impressed by the crowds and large turnout.
“Even with the low unemployment rate of 3.2 percent we still have people out there looking for work so we’re trying to help them find work, and where can you go to one location and visit with 90 employers? It’s right here at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.”
Applicants in attendance ranged from recent college graduates to soon-to-be high school graduates.
“One of the big surprises this morning was Abernathy High School. They brought their seniors to the job fair this morning. All 46 seniors that are graduating this year,” said Soliz. “We had interview s on hand from Whataburger to Salt Grass who have already committed to some of those students and that they’d put them to work at the end of the school year.”
Employers had the chance to meet one-on-one with job-seekers applying to jobs that ranged from food services to those in the medical field.
“It’s a diverse group of employers that are out here, you’re looking a the medical field, truck drivers, staff and agencies,” said Soliz. “There’s a wide variety of jobs when you have a fair that’s this big.”
Both vendors and job applicants at the fair expressed that they had a positive networking experience.
“It’s just a great environment,” said Joe Tijerina, a Texas Tech grad who is actively looking for a job who says he feels hopeful after visiting the fair. “The vendors have been great, employers have been great. Everybody’s been friendly.”
This was the first South Plains job fair of the year. There will be another one in October, and one in November for the city’s veterans.
