By Rita Howell

Employers will be seeking to fill positions ranging from baker to store manager to forklift operator at the Northwest Mississippi Area Job Fair Thursday at the Batesville Civic Center from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Last year over 900 people looking for work attended the job fair in Batesville. More than 200 job offers were made that day and contacts made that day resulted in subsequent hiring in months that followed, according to Adam Todd, Governor’s Job Fair Network director. He expects as many potential employees this year.

So far, 42 organizations have registered to participate. Local businesses like Cracker Barrel, Lowe’s, ACI, Insituform and Batesville Tooling and Design will be talking with job seekers. Ingalls Shipbuilding from Pascagoula, Olin-Winchester of Oxford and Windsor Foods of Oakland will send representatives. State agencies like the National Guard, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Rehabilitation will be on hand seeking workers as well.

“We have a good group of organizations coming together,” Todd said, “with a multitude of diverse programs.”

Job seekers from varied backgrounds who possess the skill sets required by Job Fair employers should find opportunities for employment, Todd said.

For others, the Job Fair may not provide immediate employment, but it could put participants on the path to preparing themselves for employment.

“You can go to the Win Job Center or Northwest Community College to find out what you have to do to get that job,” Todd explained. “Sometimes all that’s required is just a little more training.”
Some qualified job applicants might not walk away with a job offer Thursday, Todd said, but the applicant files gathered that day may be revisited by employers in three months, or six.
“A lot of good things are going to happen,” Todd said.

He acknowledged the support of the Panola Partnership, the City of Batesville, Northwest Community College, the local Win Job Center, and the Finch-Henry Job Corps Center in helping organize the Job Fair.

“This is a community-driven event,” Todd said. “It could not happen without community involvement.”

Additional Job Fair employers will include: Volt Workforce Solutions, View, Inc.; Tower Loan, SXP Schultz Xtruded Products LP, Staffing Solutions, Primerica-Crandall Craigen and Associates, Ivey Mechanical Co., Employment Staffing Employment Plus, Dollar General, Averitt Express, Auto-Chlor System, ARAMARK, Amdata Tax Solutions, and Ace Training Center.