By Oniska Blevins | The Selma Times-Journal

The Dallas County Department of Human Resources Job Task Force Committee is hosting a job fair Wednesday, May 9 at the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center.

After months of preparation, the organization will welcome 20-25 companies to the center from both Selma and surrounding areas.

The job fair will be from 9 a.m. until noon, and JOBS Fair Program supervisor Patricia Thomas said everyone is invited.

“It’s not just for participants of our program, it’s open to the public,” she said.

Thomas said it would be a good idea for people to bring a resume to the job fair.

The Alabama Career Center System is a good resource for those without a resume.

“If they don’t have [a resume] they can always go down to the career center and the career center can help them get one together,” she said.

Thomas said one of the reasons people in Selma are unemployed is because they are unaware of many opportunities available and events like the job fair helps with that issue.

“They’ll have a chance to see what businesses there are available in this area,” she said. “A lot of times people don’t go places and apply to certain businesses because they don’t know they are in that area.”

Selma Fire/Rescue Department, American Apparel, GD Copper and Montgomery Job Core are just a few of the companies that will be present at the job fair.

Thomas said the main goal is to have people leave the job fair with a job or at least the prospect of getting a job. She said aside from getting a job, she wants people to see and learn the necessary skillsets, education and work it takes to land different positions.

Family Self Sufficiency Case Aid for the Department of Human Resources Ernestine Towns said their JOBS program helps dispel the negative beliefs toward welfare recipients.

The program provides job readiness services to parents receiving cash assistance to help them find and retain employment.

Towns said the organization collaborates with other local institutions to help toward that goal.

“We collaborate with Wallace Community College and they have adult education programs,” she said. “They have job readiness programs.”

Towns said a huge part in helping people find employment is knowing their strengths and weaknesses.

“We go out and find out what their skills are, what they can do and what they have been doing and we utilize that,” she said.

Towns said throughout her five years working with the Dallas County DHR she has seen many lives changed through the JOBS program and the Job Fair. She said she loves her job and is looking forward to seeing more people in Selma gain employment opportunity.