Oglethorpe County is growing, which means the need for workers and jobs is growing, too.
Businesses and other organizations had the opportunity to meet with students and others at a Career and Connections Fair on Tuesday, an event sponsored by the Oglethorpe County Chamber of Commerce.
More than 50 businesses and organizations attended the six-hour event at the OCHS gym. It focused on exposure to employment within and beyond the county through information on job opportunities, career paths and community resources.
“We’re doing this job fair because it’s been a few years since we’ve had one,” said Mari Robb, chamber vice president and co-owner of BlueSky Tire and Auto Service in Crawford. “We are seeing growth in the community and our businesses are needing employees, and our students and our adults are needing employment.”
Jarrett Boyd, assistant director of operations at J&J Portable Sanitation Products in Crawford, said the fair gave students a chance to see the opportunities around them.
“Our headquarters has been here for 15 years now, so we’ve always been a local company,” Boyd said. “(We) look for students who want to get new jobs or have a new place to work, or something in the community that’s close by, just have an opportunity, or give them an open door to be able to work there, get something on the resume.”
Sara Hughes, OCHS work-based learning coordinator and chamber member, said the fair was specifically designed to benefit both students and businesses in this way.
“Anytime that we can provide extra exposure to our students, especially right here in our own backyard, that’s a benefit,” Hughes said. “Then the other approach is from the chamber of commerce side, and to try to promote local businesses and even other businesses outside of our community.”
One standout feature of this fair was student entrepreneurs. OCHS students Carlie Gabriel, Callie Bridges and Marcus Fleming promoted their businesses alongside established vendors.
Fleming, a ninth-grader and owner of Elite Detailing, said the event helped him gain visibility.
“If you’re younger, a lot of people support small businesses and stuff like that,” Fleming said. “So you’ll get a lot more people asking about it.”
Hughes said the event, which was planned by herself, Robb and Claudia Reit, had strong student participation because it was built into the school day.
“There’s growth opportunities there, and we’re learning from this as our first year,” Hughes said, “Hopefully, we can get good participation and learn some things along the way, then perhaps, if we do this again in the future, we’ll be able to roll out an even better event next time.”