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Hampton launches workforce initiative, schedules job fair with 75+ employers and 1,500 openings
Summary
City staff unveiled a workforce development initiative aimed at connecting Hampton residents with regional employers and announced a community job fair next Thursday with more than 75 employers and over 1,500 job openings, plus pre-fair workshops and partner services.
City staff on Monday presented a new workforce development initiative designed to connect Hampton residents to regional job opportunities and to help employers fill vacancies. Pam Croom, an economic-development team member leading the effort, told council the "New Year New Opportunity" job fair next Thursday will include more than 75 employers and resource partners and "over 1,500 job openings" on site.
The initiative seeks to bridge supply and demand by coordinating internal departments, nonprofit partners and regional workforce organizations, staff said. Leonard Sledge framed the program with regional labor data showing the city's labor force participation trailing larger geographies and cited a November 2016 unemployment rate of 5.6% and an underemployment rate of 11.9% for Hampton. Sledge said staff will measure success by tracking per-capita and median household income, poverty rates, labor-force participation and unemployment over time. "It's about the data. It's about the statistics," he said.
Staff outlined supports meant to remove barriers that can keep residents from converting opportunities into hires: pre-fair workshops on how to work a job fair, interviewing techniques and online application/social-media use; partner-provided childcare and transportation assistance where qualified; and on-site resources for veterans and soft-skills training. Croom said partners will have resource tables and that some employers will interview and hire on site. Attendees will be preregistered at the event, and employers are asked to complete post-event surveys so staff can report outcomes back to council.
The program includes targeted youth efforts as well: a spring-break training week and a separate youth-focused job fair for 16- to 24-year-olds; city staff also plan to expand internships and apprenticeship connections with Hampton City Schools and Thomas Nelson Community College. Staff said regional sources (Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census and QCEW wage data) will be used to validate long-term metrics and monitor outcomes.
