BURLINGTON, Ky. –
Over 50 vendors and colleges were present for the career fair at the Kentucky National Guard’s Readiness Center in Northern Kentucky Apr. 14.
Some of the vendors that were present were Amazon, Fed Ex, UPS and Atlas Air. There were also colleges from around the area that included Northern Kentucky University, Thomas Moore University and Gateway Community and Technical College.
According to Staff Sgt. Adam Stoppleworth, assistant operations non-commissioned officer for the 103rd Chemical Battalion, the reason for hosting the career fair was to create potential leads for them to fill their ranks, as well as, to connect with the community.
“Our objectives for the fair today was threefold,” said Stoppleworth. “We wanted to generate leads for recruiting for one. Secondly we were looking to reconnect with local community members who are woefully undereducated about the National Guard many that don’t even know we are here. And lastly we want to be able to answer any questions that the community has.”
One of the lesser known things Stoppleworth wanted to share with the community members is that the Burlington Readiness Center can be rented for family/corporate events.
Having a spot at the career fair also helped the companies get an opportunity to meet potential employees and share some of the benefits that aren’t commonly known.
“Being here allows me to interact with the community,” said Aaron Boyer, a talent acquisition manager with the United Parcel Service. “Getting in touch with some of the students and kids that are coming from the community out here is big. I’ve had the chance to talk to them about the opportunities that they have, especially when they're planning on going to college and I can share with them that we have education assistance to help you get through college and not have to take on so much loan debt.”
Another company present was Kentucky Valor. Their company is part of a new Kentucky initiative that helps military members and their spouses find new careers not just a job. They facilitate taking military training and experience and translate it into civilian licensure.
“We are by Kentucky for Kentucky,” said Nikki Stewart with Kentucky Valor. “We want to help them find jobs and good careers here in the Bluegrass.”
She went on to share the great response their company had received was really positive from the ones she talked to throughout the day.
“These guys and gals have been awesome and it’s been really great to talk to them, said Stewart. They've been wonderfully receptive and really communicative. It's just been great and we're really excited that we got to be part of this day. It's been really awesome,” she said.
In all, about 150 people came through the readiness center and got to meet the hiring companies and pick a lot of swag from each to take with them, and hopefully a fulfilling career as well.