From left are William Chesley, deputy director of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, with local residents Ryan Harris, D’Angelo Griffin, Devon Griffin, Juwan Daniels, and Mayor Allison Silberberg. Photo by Vernon Miles.
If you host it, they will come. While 3.4 percent unemployment in Alexandria is slightly below the 3.9 percent average for Northern Virginia, it still leaves 3,381 Alexandrians unemployed. A 2010 census found that 15.6 percent of African Americans in Alexandria had been unemployed for over 12 months. In an effort to push that number lower, various city departments and volunteer organizations partnered to hosted a job fair on Feb. 25 at the Charles Houston Recreation Center, with employers from around the city and country setting up booths to advertise jobs. By noon, two hours after the event had started, nearly 200 Alexandrians had attended the fair and picked up packets for local jobs.
Employers included various military branches and every city service, as well as companies like 7-Eleven, Passport Nissan, and Griswold Home Care. The job fair was aimed at 18-28 year old Alexandrians looking for entry level positions. Some were college students on a break from school or recently graduated looking for a temporary job, others hadn’t attended college and were looking for a starting point for the workforce.
“Most of the jobs here are army or police, some with nine month waiting periods. That’s too long for us; it’s not feasible.”
— Lynel Patton, Alexandria resident
“We need to focus on early level opportunities,” said Michael Johnson with the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, who helped organize the event. “We noticed some young people were just hanging out. The people we talked to overwhelmingly said they needed employment. So we told them we’d have a job fair. Started with a conversation about ‘what can we do’ and it grew from there.”
William Chesley, deputy director of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, said community-based events like the job fair are some of the most helpful things the city can do for its citizens.
“We met with 20 or so folks who said they needed jobs about five weeks ago, so we pulled things together to make this happen,” said Chesley. “We targeted at-risk youth and young adults. The people talking to us were sincere, so we responded sincerely.”
Juwan Daniels was one of the young men at the job fair looking for potential employment and carried applications from several employers.
“They all look good,” said Daniels. “This is a good program, there’s a variety of choices here.”
“I like [the job fair] a lot, there is a lot of good opportunities,” said Jasmine Dixie, who wants to join the Sheriff’s department because it can offer a full career and she can give back to her community.
Deputy Marvin Pitts, who has worked in the Alexandria Sheriff’s Department for 21 years, was at the job fair and encouraged young Alexandrians to apply for a career in the department. Pitts said the job requires a polygraph test, a psychological test, and a medical exam, as well as a background check and meeting physical requirements. Pitts also noted that anyone who joins the department starts with two years or so of working in the jail before they can transfer to another position.
Lee Venable represented the Navy at the job fair, and shared the same pitch that he’d said had made him want to sign up. For Venable, the Navy was a chance to travel and find his independence. He said he was hooked as soon as he saw the list of bases around the world the Navy would pay to send him to, his favorite location so far being a stint in Thailand. At the job fair, Venable said the biggest obstacle has been that many people he talks to are afraid they don’t qualify.
As with the Navy and the Sheriff’s Department, many of the jobs at the fair were long-term positions. Some were thankful for the city for the job fair, but still said there’s room to improve in the future.
Lynel Patton and Tanasia Strother sat at one of the tables where a company had said they’d attend but never showed up. Both expressed an interest in reception or retail work, where they could work with customer service and help others, and both planned on also attending a job fair hosted the next day at a new Holiday Inn nearby.
“Ideally, we’d like to see more options,” said Patton. “Most of the jobs here are Army or police, some with nine-month waiting periods. That’s too long for us; it’s not feasible.”
Though limited, there were a few employers at the fair representing more immediate jobs. J.D. Pittman, at the job fair representing Passport Nissan, said there were various entry level positions available.
“We take people for everything from sales associates to [working in] the call centers,” said Pittman. “We train them. They don’t need to have any experience to apply. We’re just looking for people who are eager and with a desire to work.”