HUNTSVILLE — Just for a minute, look at your career like two generations of Huntsville engineers building rockets. In the early days, they put in a lot of hard work and everything seemed to be working fine … until the first few rockets blew up on the test stand.
If, up until now, your career has been a series of misfires and fizzles, you need a relaunch and the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce is hosting one for you.
The ReLaunch Career Fair, formerly known as the Second Chance Job Fair, will be held at Jemison High School at 5000 Pulaski Pike from 4-6 p.m. July 18 and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 19. There is no charge for admission and registration is not required.
The two-day event is held in cooperation with the local Alabama Career Center, the Alabama Community College System, local nonprofits, and community agencies. The fair has two missions: to assist local companies in finding capable workers, and to empower members of the community by improving their quality of life and financial stability.
The career fair is meant to bridge the gap between the under-resourced job seeker, and employers. Participants will provide job opportunities for individuals who are changing careers, who are unemployed, underemployed, or have dropped out of high school; those who have served time in jail or have not yet achieved their full potential.
Madison County District 6 Commissioner Violet Edwards said that’s what inspired her to get involved.
“The Relaunch Career Fair takes place in my district, and it has a strong focus on the underserved people here,” Edwards said. “I will be at the career fair both days, walking around talking to people about how they can start a career, or how they can get reacclimated back into the job market after getting out of jail or rehab.
“If they need clothes, if they need help preparing a resume or need someone to do mock interviews, I want to do my part to help people get a career back on track.”
Huntsville rocket engineers faced several forward-falling failures. But they adjusted, listened to new ideas and used some new tools. If they hadn’t, the engineers they would not have been able to get so much as a bottle rocket off the ground, much less the biggest and most powerful rocket in the world.
Careers are no different.
“With the economic growth and the major players involved, many smaller businesses are just unable to compete,” said David Perez, president and CEO of Phoenix, the presenting sponsor of the ReLaunch Career Fair. “The job fair is simply one more component to help North Alabama businesses connect with future employees.
“This environment and the low unemployment rate are unprecedented, so I know a job fair will be beneficial on several levels. I also believe that the growth we are seeing will possibly deplete the traditional workforce, and force businesses to seek out nontraditional avenues.”
Click here to see an up-to-date list of employers who will be on-hand interviewing and hiring during the two-day event.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
