15-04-2025
Collaboration a key element of Southwest Georgia Regional Job Fair
ALBANY — Yes, the Southwest Georgia Regional Job Fair Thursday is a high-priority event for the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission and its partners.
But for EDC Director of Business Relations Marvin Oliver, the activities leading up to the job fair at the Albany Civic Center and the event itself are only a large piece of an ongoing puzzle.
'This is not just about numbers or even jobs that are available,' Oliver said of the event that is expected to attract as many as 1,400 job-seekers. 'It's about a community working together to address one of its major concerns: poverty. There are a number of great needs in our community, and a lot of them relate to joblessness.
'Unfortunately, the primary approach organizations in communities like ours seem to take is one of addressing individual resources. Everyone works in a silo. What I hope we can do with this job fair and continue to do afterwards is collaborate. Instead of everyone doing his own thing — and, often, it's the same thing — we can work together, pool our resources and take a more collaborative approach.'
The Sherwood Baptist Church Hope Center is one of the job fair sponsors that is taking Oliver's concern to heart. The Hope Center has offered a pair of resume workshops at no cost and will offer one more on Tuesday at 6 p.m. leading up to the job fair. The workshop gives potential participants an opportunity to interact with employees at the job fair with a leg-up.
'This (resume workshop) is one of several ministries offered by Sherwood,' Hope Center Director Matt Nowicki said before the start of Friday's workshop. 'It offers job-seekers an opportunity to present themselves in a way that will help them in their efforts to find a job.
'We work well with the Economic Development Commission not just to help potential applicants with resume building but also on how the potential employees should present themselves, how to dress, on down to the finer points like how to shake hands.'
Sherwood member and volunteer Phyllis Rolle said the three workshops leading up to Thursday's job fair are part of an ongoing project undertaken by the Hope Center.
'We'd actually had a workshop back before Hurricane Helene and had a good turnout for that session,' Rolle said. 'The whole program stems from the large number of individuals in the area who are not prepared for this challenge.
'Yes, we offer to help them build a resume — how to format it, what to put in it — but we also work with them to build the skills needed to complete a successful interview.'
Albany resident James Robinson III, who is studying IT at Georgia Tech, came to Friday's workshop to help prepare for the job fair. He said he'll use the workshop to hone his resume as he searches for a job in his specialty area.
'I'm either going to return to school full-time or find a part- or full-time job in my area,' Robinson said. 'I recently moved back to Albany, and I'm looking for a job right now. I want to find something in data analysis, software engineering, information technology, artificial intelligence, robotics.'
Robinson and other job-seekers should find plenty of opportunities at the job fair. Oliver said 38 employers already had signed up to be a part of the event, and he expects that number to grow to between 50 and 60 by Thursday. Among the businesses and agencies represented at the job fair are the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force, Sunnyland Farms, MolsonCoors, Tyson Foods, Albany State University, the city of Albany's HR Department, the Albany Area YMCA, Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Service and the Albany Police Department.
Oliver said the event's itinerary is planned to help in a couple of vital areas: resume building and giving special attention to the needs of veterans. A resume-building opportunity will be held from 2-4 p.m., and veteran job-seekers will be allowed in from 3-4 p.m., giving them an hour's head start before the general public is allowed in at 4 p.m.
'Having the resume workshop beforehand helps keep things from getting overwhelming,' the EDC director of business relations said. 'A large number of people come in needing help with their resume or with no resume at all, and that certainly hurts their chances of getting a job. We feel that helping these folks is an important part of the event.
'We also want to make sure we don't deter our veterans, who have served our country. Allowing them to go into the job fair first is our way of honoring them. We want them to know that they don't have to feel concerned about what we expect to be a large crowd. We'll make sure they get first opportunity to talk with employers.'
Oliver said events like the job fair help the community attack poverty, one job at a time.
'Yes, this event allows job-seekers an opportunity to talk with employers who are hiring,' he said. 'But it's not just about the job fair. This is about building collaborations that continue to offer opportunities as we continue into the future.'
