More than 100 people come out for City of Wilmington Career Fair

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — More than one hundred people showed up at the largest career fair ever hosted by the City of Wilmington on Wednesday.

There were several booths set up like law enforcement, buildings and facilities, waste management and more at Legion Stadium from 9 am to 1 pm. According to city officials, 150 people came out to the event to learn about available job opportunities.

Due to COVID-19, there’s been high turnover in many departments that’s left more than 70 positions open. Assistant Human Resources Director Clayton Roberts says they have positions available for everyone.

“From police, fire, to people working in construction, to people that want to work in an office. We’ve got a lot of opportunities and a great benefits package, a great work environment, and it’s a place where you can make a lasting career.”

Those are many things that Robin Colbert was looking for when she showed up to the career fair and seemed to find as she was looking around.

“I saw about eight different jobs that I qualified for and I’m going to apply for so I’m excited,” Colbert said.

After a year of the pandemic and being stuck at home, Colbert says she is ready to get back to work and is interested in a career change. She says the recent announcement of the $1,000 sign-on bonus gave her extra motivation to come to the event, but the benefits package the city has to offer is enticing as well.

“I think a lot of jobs now are upping their wages because we just can’t make it off of what they’re paying us, but that made me even more excited and as I said, the benefits,” Colbert said. “Even if you make a low wage, if you’ve got a good benefits package it’s worth it.”

She left the event with high hopes. Colbert says being able to talk to hiring managers and current employees opened her eyes to some opportunities that she didn’t think were available to her.

“There were some positions that I hadn’t applied for that I didn’t think I qualified for but they said that you didn’t have to have any experience, they would train you. So like I said, I’m ready to start a new career and I’m excited about this job fair,” Colbert said.

Individuals that went to the fair will be given priority consideration for the jobs they apply for and qualify for, but if you weren’t able to make it to the event you can visit here to find available jobs.

After a successful event, Roberts says this will likely be an annual event the city hosts from now on.