This article was originally posted by The Newport Plain Talk on March 16, 2024
NEWPORT — The American Job Center Hiring Event was held Thursday at the National Guard Armory. Several employers were on site looking for new employees.
Among those employers hiring and set up at the event were Wilderness at the Smokies, Sonic, Walmart, Food City, Home and Rental Maintenance, Silver Angels, Tennova Newport Medical Center, FedEx, the United States Postal Service (USPS), HireQuest Direct, Luttrell Staffing Solutions and the Original Footwear Company.
Roger Ramsey and Jeff Shelton are both Cocke County natives who worked together at ConAgra for several years but now work together as career specialists at the American Job Center in Sevierville. They helped organize the hiring event. Ramsey works specifically with military veterans and helps them find employment.
Shelton and Ramsey said they have job fairs every Thursday at the Sevierville location and there are employers who are actively seeking to hire at those weekly events.
Paige Gibbons is a career services specialist with East Tennessee State University Title I Services. She works with youth, adults and dislocated workers throughout the job search process. She said she is available to help those seeking employment.
The American Job Center in Sevierville is located at 1216 Graduate Drive.
O. Wayne Fullington, vice chairman of the youth committee of the East Tennessee Local Workforce Development Area Board, explained that the board has access to a grant that will reimburse employers for up to eight weeks of a youth’s pay.
“If you are an employer or a hiring agent, please contact me for more information. If you have a young person who wants to work, please watch for information from your high school,” Fullington said.
Fullington can be reached by email at o.wayne@live.com or by phone at (865) 404-4000. He explained that for the grant funding youth are up to age 24.
Martha Wilson with the GO PLACES Project explained that they are working with youth and young adults ages 18 to 24. Through the program participants can engage in work experience with a full wage subsidy of $15 per hour for up to 200 hours. More extensive training may last up to 520 hours with a subsidy of $9 per hour if the employer ensures a guaranteed minimum wage of $15 per hour.
To participate in GO PLACES, individuals must have been justice-involved or must have formerly been in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services (DCS). Wilson can be reached at marthawilson.chw@gmail.com or call (423) 312-3383.
Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis said he is appreciative of the efforts of the different organizations working together to set up the hiring event and he is also appreciative of the employers who sat up at the event.
