NEWBERRY — Grab your resume and see what opportunities are available in Newberry County at the Newberry job and college transfer fair.
The fair will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at the campus of Piedmont Technical College, 1922 Wilson Road in Newberry.
The Newberry County Chamber of Commerce and PTC joined together to provide this opportunity for the community.
“It’s the first year we’ve really done a joint transfer and career fair,” said Beth Jaeger, director of PTC’s Newberry campus.
Jaeger said that PTC held a transfer fair last June and had originally planned another for June of this year, but it was pushed back.
Michelle Long with the Newberry Chamber of Commerce said their workforce development council had discussed doing a job fair last year and that it was held in October at Central United Methodist Church.
The council includes representatives from the chamber, Department of Social Services, SC Works, Insight Support Systems and Piedmont Technical College.
“It was really successful,” Long said. “We had 27 employers and we know at least 300 people came through.”
Long said a survey was given to both participants and employers for feedback following the job fair.
“Primarily what we wanted to know from attendees was why they attended, how they heard about it, if there were businesses not in attendance that they would have liked to see and suggestions for a future job fair,” Long said.
Long said that word of mouth was one of the biggest contributors to learning of the job fair, followed by flyers, The Newberry Observer and Facebook.
Because of the partnership, Thursday’s fair will include information for those interested in work, but also for students that are interested in transferring to a university.
Jaeger said that so far Newberry College, Lander University, Claflin University and Columbia College had confirmed that they would be attending.
Long said that more than 16 businesses should be in attendance with anything from human services positions to manufacturing, real estate and other options for the community to apply for.
Jaeger said they planned to have most of the colleges and universities set up in the lobby of PTC, but that the majority of the fair would be taking place in the campus’ auditorium.
Childcare will not be provided for the event, Jaeger said.
Long said they encouraged participants to show up dressed like they would be going to a job interview and to bring resumes and other information that they would need to complete an application.
While some businesses will have applications handy, some may want them filled out online. Jaeger said for those online applications, participants could use the library to fill those out. Resume help will also be available if needed.
For the current PTC students, Jaeger encouraged them to attend, especially if they were undecided with their majors and to find out about transfer opportunities if they were interested in getting their Masters degree.
“It’s certainly an opportunity to find out what Piedmont Tech has to offer, but also what our senior institutions have to offer if they’re interested in pursing their education to a bachelor’s degree or beyond,” Jaeger said.
Many assume, Long said that they need to drive to Columbia, Greenville or Spartanburg to find a job opportunity because they do not realize what is available here in Newberry County.
“It is important that people know what is available in their community and we’d love to have them live and work in Newberry,” Long said.