Help wanted: 50 employers will be recruiting at Wednesday’s Career Fair in Richmond

Richmond is hosting its largest career fair in the post-pandemic era Wednesday afternoon, with over 50 employers meeting job seekers at the Richmond Convention Center.  

Companies that will be recruiting at the event include PG&E, BART, U.S. Postal Service, Tesla, Amazon and Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences. The care industry will be well-represented, with employers trying to fill positions in child and senior care as well as in medical professions. Together, they offer a wide array of opportunities, ranging from entry level jobs to skilled leadership positions.

For example, said Gilbert Pete, a project coordinator for the city’s RichmondWORKS division, “You would think that Kaiser Hospital primarily focuses on health, but they also have media production because of their training videos that they provide to individuals.”

The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program will be there promoting its paid training program for a career in forestry and firefighting. A spokesperson for the program said the next training session will include about 30 people and be held in Oakland this spring. The FFRP is a nonprofit that recruits firefighting personnel from underrepresented communities. It gives formerly incarcerated firefighters the training to apply for jobs with the U.S. Forest Service and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The fair opens as the unemployment rate in Contra Costa County is relatively low, at 4.1%, even in comparison to California’s 4.6%. What’s hidden in those statistics, Pete said, is the underemployment rate — those individuals who are working multiple jobs to make ends meet or making long commutes to work a job that will put food on the table.

“That’s why we’re pulling together fairs like this, to ensure that we are putting our community members in positions to engage with individuals to move themselves out of those situations,” Pete said.

RichmondWORKS, which organized the fair, works with both unemployed and underemployed individuals to identify the barriers limiting them from reaching their career goals. The career center offers job training in numerous service areas, as well as job referrals, software tutorials, resume preparation, career counseling, literacy services and skills assessment, amongst other services.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, career fairs in Richmond had been limited in size to no more than 10 representatives. Richmond plans to host another large career fair in the spring.

Wednesday’s fair rill run from noon to 4 p.m. RichmondWORKS suggested on its Facebook page that job seekers bring a resume and “dress to impress.” For those who can’t make it, RichmondWORKS offers resources and job postings on its website, Facebook page and Instagram account. 

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