SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin wants state residents to know there are good paying jobs in West Virginia, despite numerous job losses in the coal industry and after the June flood.
“There’s opportunities all over our state. There really is and I don’t want anyone to give up. I don’t want anybody to leave our state. I want people to know that their families have opportunities here,” Manchin (D-W.Va.) told MetroNews.
More than 130 employers were in Kanawha County Friday for the Regional Job and Resource Fair at BridgeValley Community and Technical College.
Job seekers had the opportunity to speak with employers from across the region, including Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Lowes, UPS, West Virginia State Police, Charleston Area Medical Center, Toyota, several restaurants and much more.
Manchin hosted job fairs in Logan and Martinsburg this past month and said many people looking for work were hired.
“People are getting hired. There’s not one job fair that we’ve had that some person or some family hasn’t gotten a job. It’s unbelievable,” he said.
Many of these employers, Manchin said, are willing to train people.
“If you don’t think you have the skill sets, we’ll help you get skill sets. If you don’t know how to do a resume, you’ve never done one, you’ve had the same job for a long time, we’ll have people here that can help you write a resume,” he said. “The most important thing we do is we get you up and moving back into the work force again.
Russell Fry, executive director of WorkForce West Virginia, was at Friday’s job fair. He said the unemployment rate has dropped in West Virginia and they’re hoping these job fairs help continue that.
“It allows us to bring all these employers together to one location,” Fry said. “There are individuals that have the abilities and skill sets that may not necessarily realize those fit into a different occupation than what they’ve been doing in the past.”
WorkForce West Virginia offered free support for help with resume writing, interview skills and career changes. Job seekers were able to upload their resume to be electronically shared with every employer participating in the event.
Friday’s job fair was put on by U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, West Virginia University, WVU Medicine, WorkForce West Virginia, BridgeValley Community and Technical College, West Virginia National Guard and the Region III Workforce Investment Board.